Dead Center
by Lina-Li1
Summary: EricxSookie. A series of one shots based on an old 100 themes challenge. Rating may change as more themes are written. Theme 24: "No Time" is up now.
1. No Ordinary Human

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire universe. It all belongs to Charlaine Harris.

A/N: So, more than a year ago, there was a 100 themes challenge that I originally saw while reading Harry Potter fics. While re-reading these 100 themes recently, I realized they might work well for SVM as well; therefore, I am going to attempt to write a collection of 100 one-shots following those themes. Not every chapter will have the same rating or same point of view.

Theme 1: Introduction

POV: Eric

Rating: T

No Ordinary Human

I saw her the moment she walked into the bar with Compton. How could I not, dressed as she was in white and red amidst a sea of black? It was immediately apparent that there was something different about this woman. It wasn't just the clothing or the air of innocence that surrounded her or the fact that she was sexy as hell, though those are still reasons I will list in public. There was something about this woman that seemed vaguely familiar, though I couldn't place where from. That in itself was enough to intrigue me. Vampires are known for their impeccable memory yet for all I strained my memories I could neither place her, nor shake the feeling that she was someone I should know.

I was not surprised when Pam approached me shortly after she had admitted them. She, too, seemed to notice that this young woman was unique, though I could tell she was not experiencing the same strange sense of familiarity that I was. She marched straight up to the table I was sitting at and informed me, "Bill Compton is here and he has brought with him a woman that I think will be to your liking.

"Yes, I have already taken notice of her." I replied.

"She smells delicious. Shall I summon them for you?"

"No, Pam, I wish to observe them for awhile," I answered, "Besides, I have a feeling they will come to us. Have a seat and you will see. Before the evening is over, they will join us at this table."

I watched as the woman who had accompanied Bill stopped in the middle of the floor and stared around the bar in apparent wonder. Bill whispered something to her and she laughed. At that moment I felt the strangest sensation in the pit of my stomach. It was not a feeling I was accustomed to but I knew then and there that she did not belong with Compton. I would make her mine. Oh, the things I could do to, and with, that body.

They walked to the bar and ordered their drinks. At this point I would have expected them to look for a table or settle themselves on the barstools to consume the beverages. I was therefore surprised when I saw Long Shadow's attention focus on the woman before she handed him what looked like several photographs. At this point I began to listen in to the conversation. I almost laughed when the woman asked Long Shadow who the people from the pictures "hung around with." She certainly had a bold streak to her. That was something I could appreciate. I was less than pleased with Long Shadow when he informed her that everyone who came to my bar was looking for death since this was so obviously not the case with this young woman.

When she had finished her conversation with Long Shadow, Compton finally led his guest to a booth that had just been vacated. I was again amused to see that look of disgust that crossed her face as she watched Compton drink from his bottled blood. I found it interesting that this appeared to be something that she was unaccustomed to. It made me wonder how she had come to find herself in my bar with him.

My interest was further peaked when a fangbanger approached their table. It was becoming obvious that Compton had no real claim on his guest so I began to wonder who he would choose. I was more than a little disappointed when Compton brushed the fangbanger away and somewhat irritated by the fact that his lovely blonde companion actually looked jealous. Could she not see how unworthy a creature Compton was?

This scene was repeated three more times. Each time Compton looked more confident in his rejection of the fangbanger while his companion looked increasingly tense. As the fourth fangbanger left, Compton turned towards his companion and I took that as my cue to begin listening again.

"You're not talking," he stated, as if she were unaware that she was remaining quiet.

"There's nothing for me to say," she replied and I wanted to cheer her on.

"You could have sent them on their way. Do you want me to leave you? Is there someone else here who catches your fancy? Long Shadow, there at the bar, would love to spend time with you, I can tell." I found myself wondering again what the relationship between Compton and this young woman was that he would bring her hear and then offer to leave her. I focused more intensely than was really necessary to hear her answer.

"Oh, for God's sake, no! I do have to ask them if they've seen Dawn and Maudette in here, though"

"Do you want me with you?" asked Compton.

"Please," she now sounded frightened. I found that I did not like that tone in her voice. I usually relished hearing fear in the voices of humans but once again this woman was proving herself different from other humans.

"The vampire over there is handsome; he has already scanned you twice," I stopped listening at this point. I didn't need to know more. Compton had just made his biggest mistake since bringing that woman into my bar. He had just drawn her attention to me.

I expected them to immediately approach my table after that and was met instead by a forty-something male fangbanger, kissing Pam's boots. It almost amused me to watch her kick him in the shoulder, glad for the sake of the business that she had not kicked him in the head. From the corner of my eye, I saw more movement in my direction. I turned to glare at the offender before realizing it was exactly the person I wanted to have approaching me, even if she did have Compton in tow.

I nodded in greeting to Compton as he stopped out of kicking distance; a smart decision on his part. While I had no intention of kicking this woman, or letting Pam do so, I would not be averse to kicking him. I turned my attention to his companion as I heard Pam inquire about her. Up close, I realized that her hair was nearly the exact same shade as mine and her curves were even more luscious than I had thought. I watched her breasts heave as she drew in breath and it made me instantly hard. It took quite a concerted effort to focus as I realized she was introducing herself.

"Hi, I'm Sookie Stackhouse."

It was said so formally and politely that I had to make a remark in response, "Aren't you sweet."

She surprised a laugh out of me as she replied, "Not especially."

When I recovered, I continued the introductions, "Sookie, this is Pam and I am Eric." I wanted to make sure she would remember me since I knew she would one day belong to me.

I heard Compton informing us that Sookie had some questions to ask us. I could tell that Pam was disappointed, thinking Sookie was turning out to be just another tourist after all. She listed off some of the more frequently asked questions and was genuinely surprised when Sookie informed her those were not the questions she was interested in having answered.

She pulled out two of the three photographs I had seen her show Long Shadow earlier. She inquired as to whether Pam or I had ever seen either of the two women. I was so absorbed in wondering why she was now hiding the third picture that I surprised even myself when I answered her truthfully. After a brief, stunned silence, Pam followed suit.

When we had finished giving her the information she was seeking, she tried to excuse herself. I was not about to let her go that easily so I turned to Compton and asked, "Bill, are you quite attached to your friend?"

I saw Sookie jerk as she realized the meaning behind my words and her relief when Compton stated that she was his. That rated pretty high on my bullshit meter. If she was his the way I was planning on making her mine than I was a werewolf. Nevertheless, I acknowledged his proclamation before giving her another full scan.

They slowly began to back away, turning away from us after a few steps. I watched them until Compton left Sookie to head back to the bar. I stared at her and realized her eyelashes were incredibly thick. I tried to count them but she seemed to realize what I was doing and lowered her gaze to her hands. Since that did not work, I decided I would glamour her into meeting me in the office for a little one on one time. All that I got for my effort was a brief glance in my direction before she turned away again.

This was very interesting. I suspected it from the time she introduced herself but now I was sure. Sookie Stackhouse was no ordinary human. That made me want to claim her even more.

When Compton returned to the table, I resumed my earlier activity of "enthralling the vermin" as Pam likes to say. I didn't really expect any more interaction with the pair that evening, therefore I was surprised again, which was happening unusually often tonight, when Compton nodded for me to meet them outside as they were leaving not five minutes later.

I beat them outside and was waiting for them at my Corvette. I noticed on the way out, Sookie managed to signal Long Shadow, as well. When they met up with me at my car, Compton informed me that Fangtasia was about to be raided. I asked him how he knew and was answered by Sookie, who simply said, "Me."

Had she called the police to raid my bar? If that was the case I was going to have to seriously rethink my plans for her. I would still receive a certain amount of pleasure from them, but I highly doubt that she would. I fixed my eyes onto her as if it would allow me to see into her mind. Realizing a further explanation was required, she admitted to being a telepath and reading the mind of an undercover cop in the bathroom.

Just when I thought she couldn't get more interesting, she throws me a curve ball. I had never been with a telepath before although I had been with a psychic once. I told her as much and informed her that it was incredible. Her answer made me like her all the more.

"Did the psychic think so, as well?"

For the second time that night, she got a laugh out of me. I usually have better control over my mask. Also for the second time, I answered her as honestly as I could before hearing the sirens and jumping in my car.

I am not happy to be driving away from her, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will see Sookie Stackhouse again. Almost as certainly I know that with our introduction, my long stagnant life was about to change forever. For the first time in a long time I was actually eager to see what the change would bring.

Ending A/N: The part about Sookie seeming familiar to Eric will be explained in a later chapter.


	2. Here, There and Everywhere

Disclaimer: All parts of the Southern Vampire universe belong to Charlaine Harris, not I.

A/N: This oneshot was inspired by the Beatles song 'Here, There and Everywhere" I am not actually posting the full lyrics of the song, but Eric's musings will more or less follow the lyrics. It takes place after Dead and Gone. I know it's a little on the short side, but following song lyrics, I could only make it so long.

Theme 2: Love

POV: Eric

Rating: T

Here, There and Everywhere

I cast a contented glance to the side as I sit in my usual booth at Fangtasia. Though I keep telling her I knew it would happen all along, I still find it hard to believe that Sookie finally accepted what is between us. Not only that, but she is comfortable enough with it to be sitting here beside me. I am too prideful to tell her, so I hope she knows that she makes each day (or night) of the year something I look forward to.

She changed my life that night that she walked into Fangtasia. She has accomplished so many things that she doesn't fully understand the significance of. She has brought together supes of all natures to work together, both during the time that I was cursed and during the Fairy War. Never before, that I know of, has anyone, much less a human, brought so many groups of supernatural beings together. She has been able to call upon the protection of vampires, weres, shifters, fairies and witches. And even so, she finds enough trouble that we can't always keep her safe. Perhaps even more astounding is the way she made me want her, in a way that I hadn't wanted anything in a very long time. She made me happy. She made me love her. She was my heart's desire.

I watch her sitting there, her gaze scanning over the crowd and I know she is listening in on the thoughts of others by the constant change of emotions through the bond we share. Suddenly I am gripped with an overwhelming urge to run my hands through her hair. Not one to resist my urges, I reach out. At my touch, she turns and smiles at me. I tilt my head in the direction of my office, indicating I wish for her to join me there. Her smile grows a little wider and she gives a brief nod. I stand and lead the way, half dragging her behind me in anticipation of what is to come once we are behind closed doors.

As we stepped into the much smaller room, I twirled Sookie in front of me, kicked the door shut and locked it behind my back. The outfit she was wearing left little to the imagination, not that I needed to used my imagination. As I gazed at her, I remembered every time we had been together and every inch of her skin. I knew exactly how good this was going to be. By looking in her eyes, I could tell that her thoughts were mirroring mine. Growling I asked her, "Are you ready? I'm going to make sure that this is a night you'll never forget."

"I sure hope that's a promise."

I gave her a leering grin in response that faded briefly as I heard a noise outside the office door. Damn Compton. I know that Sookie is glad that he eventually recovered after the Fairy War but he has been a thorn in my side ever since. He has only gotten worse since Sookie chose me. I hear him now, mumbling about how it should be him offering her a night she would never forget. I want to growl again, in a very different manner, but Sookie's hand on my face stops me. I realize that she has no idea Compton is there. Given her telepathic abilities to sense vampires even if she can't read their minds, I am led to believe she is currently extremely focused. On me.

With a smile that must look ridiculously happy, I lean down so my lips are near her ear and say to her, "You are and always will be my heart's desire and I love you."

She returns my smiles and says, finally, "I love you, too."

"But to love you, dear one, is to need you everywhere." I inform her.

"Well," she begins with a sexy smirk, "I would hate to leave you needing for anything."

Impossibly, I feel my smile grow wider. I move her over to the sofa and briefly think that I am glad I hadn't gotten cloth upholstery.


	3. You Are My Sunshine

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Charlaine Harris.

A/N: I meant to have this up a few days ago, but the carpeting in my bedroom has to be torn up and new flooring put in so I've been working on clearing everything out of the room (I haven't made much progress yet). Anyway, here is chapter three hopefully; it's not as sappy as the title makes it sound.

Theme 3: Light

POV: Sookie

Rating: T

You Are My Sunshine

"Do you ever miss being able to go out in the sunlight?" I don't know what made me ask that question. Perhaps it was because, for the first time in a long time, I had spent a good part of the day sunbathing while Eric slept. I realized it was one of the things I had never really talked with any vampire about before.

"It's not exactly normal to miss something that would inevitably kill you, is it?" responded Eric, "Asking a vampire if they miss the sunlight is like asking a human if they miss having bullets shot at them."

"But I didn't ask you if you miss the sunlight. I asked if you missed being able to go out in the sunlight. There is a difference."

Eric let out an almost human sigh, "Yes, there is."

I waited for him to answer my original question but he remained silent for so long that I finally felt the need to prompt him, "So?"

To my surprise, Eric looked almost hesitant to answer. Finally he said, "I never did until I met you."

"Until you met me?" I couldn't understand how I could have made a difference.

"When I smell the sun on you, I wish I were able to see you in it. You must be a glorious sight to behold." He began. I could feel my cheeks turning red. He sure could say the right things when he wanted to, " You are beautiful at night, don't misunderstand, but there are times when I think I would give anything to see you with the sun shining in your hair and the glow the natural light would bring to your skin."

"But I've heard it said that a girl's best light is candle and/or moon." I replied in a manner that came out more challenging than I meant it to.

"Even if that were the truth, Dear One, I would still cherish the sight of you in the sunlight, because I know how much you enjoy it."

I lowered my eyes as I replied, "Well, while it is true that I love the sun, I have to admit that I have come to enjoy night a lot more since _I _met _you."_

"Is that so?" I didn't have to look up to know that he had a classic Eric leer on his face.

"Well, now that you ask, maybe, I'm not so sure," I teased, "I guess we'll just have to put it to the test."

"That, My Lover, I will be very happy to do."

He scooped me off the sofa and began to carry me to my room but I had other plans in mind, "Wait!"

"What's the matter?" he asked, looking puzzled, "I thought you wanted…"

"I do" I cut him off, "I was just thinking, the spring nights still get pretty chilly and we've always seemed to have pretty good luck together in front of the fireplace and Amelia's gone for the week. So, I just thought…."

"An excellent idea, lover. Certainly firelight would have a similar effect to candle light, yes?"

Blushing furiously, all I could do was nod.

"Very well, then. I will build us a fire and then get to work reminding you exactly how much more you now enjoy the night."

Oh did he ever show me. Not only that, but he made it his mission to remove any doubt I might have had over whether I had been completely ruined for normal human men. At the moment, it didn't matter to me in the slightest. Who needed normal human men when they could have a 1000 year old Viking vampire?

As we lay stretched out by the fire some time later, Eric turned his head to look at me, "Since tonight seems to be a night for honestly, Lover, I must say that I also enjoy the night more since I met you. And maybe I have no need to miss being able to walk in the sunlight, because when I see you, lying next to me after we've made love, the image I have in my memory of the sun, does not compare to you."

"Well, then" I said, trying to cover my embarrassment, "you must not have a very accurate memory of the sun."

Eric laughed, "Have you forgotten, barring any curses, a vampire's memory is infallible. So, if I tell you that you shine more brightly than the sun, then you can bet that, even though I haven't willingly seen the sun in over a thousand year, I mean every word of what I say."

How is a girl supposed to respond to something like that? I chose the easiest route I could. I turned a blushing smile toward Eric and let a wave a contentment wash over me before I fell asleep, feeling safe and protected within the circle of his arms.

Ending A/N: The theme for the next chapter is: Dark. I do already have it started so, with any luck it will be up soon. I expect it to be closer to the length of the first chapter.


	4. Just a Shot in the Dark

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire universe. All characters and places belong to Charlaine Harris.

A/N: So sorry. I had a crazy week, with all kinds of things going wrong. I will try to update sooner next time.

Theme 4: Dark

POV: Sookie

Rating: T

Just a Shot in the Dark

I awoke to darkness. This would not normally bother me. I might even consider it comforting considering how often I keep vampire hours. This time, however, I knew that the darkness was not the natural darkness of night. There was no crack of light under the door, no glow of an alarm clock, or moon beams shining through the window. This was an absolute absence of light. There was no way for me to tell where I was or if it was day or night.

I struggled to remember how I came to be in this situation, but at the moment, my memory was not cooperating. The only thing I was sure of was that it had been hours since I had anything to eat or drink. Though, in a way, I still had an ace up my sleeve since had only been a few hours longer since I had consumed vampire blood.

Reaching out with my mind, I tried to see if I could learn anything about my captors, since I was pretty sure there had to be some. I couldn't figure I could get into this situation without someone putting me here. There was nothing, not even the familiar void, which would indicate a vampire. Next I decided to explore my prison. It was with a small amount of relief that I realized that I at least had room to move around, although my hands had been bound together. The room, or whatever it was, was actually about the same size as my bedroom at home.

My explorations were cut short as a caught a snarling red brain pattern that could only belong to a Were. A vengeful Were if I was reading the emotions correctly. My own emotions suddenly went from unease to downright fear. I've been around enough angry Weres to know, they aren't something I want to mess with. I tried calling to Eric, not knowing if he was close enough for me to reach him, or even if he was awake to receive my call through the bond.

This particular were, chose that moment to come bursting into the room, giving me the first glimpse of light I had seen since waking. It was still not natural light. It came from a single light bulb hanging above a set of stairs leading up. From the outline I could see, this were was one of the biggest men I had ever seen, and that was saying a lot. He moved closer, but I still could not distinguish any features because he was lit from behind.

When he reached me, the Were grabbed my wrist, where they had been bound and hauled me to my feet. He slipped what appeared to be a sleep mask over my eyes and placed a ski mask over that. I was once again cut off from any source of light, which made it particularly disorienting when I was lifted off my feet and thrown over his shoulder. He carried me up the stairs, down what I assume was a long hallway, up more stairs and through a door way. I could tell by the way the air moved around me that we were now outside.

He spoke to me now, for the first time and I was surprised by how young he sounded, "I want you to know that this is nothing against you personally, this is just the best way to hurt them."

Well, of course. None of this stuff ever happens to me because of me. It always relates back to some supe or group of supes I know, "Who _are_ you trying to hurt? Vampires? Weres? Witches? Fairies?"

"Witches and fairies?" the Were snorted, "don't you think you're a little old to believe in those things?"

"Don't you think that someone who turns into a wolf every full moon ought to be more open to the possibilities that there are things out there that he hasn't seen yet?"

He gave a little half chuckle, "Pretty cheeky for someone in your position aren't you?"

It was my turn to snort, "It's hardly the first time something like this has happened to me."

"And yet, here you still are. Nobody else seems to have been able to get the message across."

He hadn't answered my original question, but at the moment I supposed it really shouldn't be my top concern. It became less important as I heard a sound I was, unfortunately, more familiar with than I would have liked; the sound of a gun being cocked. This was just perfect. I had been shot at before but every other time I had been able to see, I could attempt to move out of the way. This time, I couldn't see to run, I was likely to trip and fall or knock myself out and make an even easier target. This time it was just going to be a shot in the dark. I almost laughed as that thought went through my head.

I heard the sound of the gun firing a fraction of a second before something slammed into me; something substantially bigger than a bullet. I flew to the side and heard another gunshot. I felt a bullet graze my leg but had no idea which bullet it was or where the other one had gone but didn't have time to dwell on either thought as I was slammed into the ground with a considerable weight coming down on top of me. Even without seeing, I was able to figure out what had happened. Eric had saved me again.

The weight lifted off me and I heard a scuffling several feet away. It didn't last long and when it was over, I heard someone approach me. This person began to tear away at the bonds holding my wrist. Relief flooded through me. Eric had obviously defeated the Were.

"Eric," I questioned, still blinded by the masks, "What did you do to him?"

"I didn't kill him, though he deserved it. I have simply subdued him. He will be dealt with by the Shreveport pack."

He pulled the masks away from my face and I rubbed at my eyes. Having been in pitch black for so long was almost as good as having vampire blood in as far as it improves your night vision. I watched as he checked me over with concerned eyes asking, "Are you okay?"

"My leg stings a little," I replied, "Otherwise I'm fine. You?"

"I'm fine, as well. Unfortunately for you, I didn't take the bullet for you this time."

"There were two bullets. Where did the other one go?"

Eric stooped to examine the wound on my leg, "The Were did not have very good aim with Pam grabbing onto his arms, and the bullet hit that tree over there." He gestured with his head, "Your leg is not bad. Would you like me to heal it?"

I turned to look in the Were's direction. I hadn't even been aware of Pam's presence until then, but there she was. She gave me a quick grin before returning her attention to the unconscious man at her feet. I returned my gaze to Eric, who was looking expectantly at me. I realized I had not answered my question and shook my head, "Let's at least wait until we get out of here. I've had a long day or night or whatever, I just want to go home."

Nodding, he lifted me off the ground, gathered me up in his arms and took to the skies.

A/N: The theme for the next chapter is "Seeking Solace."


	5. If You'll Let Me

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Sookieverse. It all belongs to Charlaine Harris. I am only borrowing it.

A/N: Amelia makes her first appearance of this collection in this chapter. It's a very brief appearance, but I know she will appear in at least one more chapter, so if you're a fan of hers, you can have that to look forward to.

Theme 4: Seeking Solace

POV: Sookie

Rating: T

If You'll Let Me

"I'm heading back to New Orleans for awhile."

I couldn't say I was surprised. Amelia had been having a hard time dealing with Tray's death. I had heard in her thoughts several times about her plans to head back to her hometown, she had just been waiting for me to be well enough to take care of myself. I sighed, resignedly and screwed up my courage to ask, "Will you be coming back?"

"I don't know yet," she replied as honestly as she could.

Reading her thoughts, I knew that she really had no idea what to do next. She needed some time away from the people and places that reminded her of Tray. I couldn't blame her. If I had a place to go and the strength to do so now, it would be on the top of my list of things to do. I read, too, the honestly when she told me she didn't blame me for Tray's death, but rather just needed to get away. I just wished I could stop blaming myself.

"When are you leaving?" I didn't really need to ask, I already knew the answer.

Amelia stared at her feet, unable to meet my eye as she answered, "My bags are packed and waiting by the front door as we speak."

I nodded and she whispered, "Bye, Sookie," before turning to walk out my bedroom door without ever looking directly at me.

"Amelia!" I called out to her as she was about to step out into the hallway.

She turned and looked at me finally, a pained expression on her face as she awaited whatever judgment I was about to pass on her.

"I understand."

She gave me a brief smile and turned to leave again but not before I caught her thoughts thanking me.

I waited until I could no longer hear her car on the gravel driveway before I broke down in tears. I meant what I said when I told her that I understood. I did understand what she was going through, all too well. I had lost so many people lately, not to mention coming close to losing my own life that I wasn't sure how to recover from it. I had lost five family members, if you counted Crystal and Claudine's unborn children, a good friend in Tray, and an acquaintance in Clancy. On top of that, I had lost any hope of reconciling my friendship with Arlene and Bill's life was still in peril. Now my roommate, and one of my closest friends, was leaving as well.

After everything I had been through, it was Amelia's departure that made it suddenly seem as if my world were falling apart. I didn't know what to do with myself. So as usual, I ignored logic and followed the instincts that so often led me into further danger. As the sun set, though, I was not yet supposed to spend more than a few minutes out of my bed at a time, I got up, got in my car and started driving.

At first, I had no idea where I was going. I was just driving, the car directing me, rather than the other way around. It wasn't until I was more than halfway there that I realized I was heading toward Shreveport. As soon as I realized this, I knew exactly what I was doing. I was going to see the one person who I had thought would never let me down; the one who had, when I needed him the most. I knew there were questions I would eventually need answers to, but tonight was not the night. Tonight I just needed him.

When I pulled up in the parking lot behind Fangtasia, Eric was there waiting for me, leaning against the employee entrance. I awaited the lecture about how I should still be in bed, but all he said to me was, "I knew you were on your way. I could feel your distress."

Before I could stop myself, I had thrown myself into his arms and was sobbing against his chest, ruining yet another of his shirts. When I finally managed to attain some degree of calm and I looked up into his intense blue eyes and apologized, "I'm so sorry for showing up like this, but Amelia left and I just couldn't deal with it."

"Dear One," Eric began. It was the first time he had called me that since I had been rescued from Neve and Lochlan and it almost brought tears to my eyes again, "You never have to apologize for coming to me for help, of any kind."

I winced a little at his words, remembering the time he hadn't come to help me. His response would have been a sigh, if he breathed, "I know you will eventually need an explanation for why I did not appear to save you from Neve and Lochlan. I promise I will eventually give you the answers you need. For tonight though, if you will let me, I will simply give you comfort."

That was, at the moment exactly what I need and so I nodded against his chest and allowed myself to forget the world around me and I sank into the solace of his arms.


	6. No Turning Back

Disclaimer: Charlaine Harris owns everything in the Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries universe. I am not Charlaine Harris, so I don't own any of it.

A/N: Back to Eric's point of view with this chapter. On the short side, but I really like the ending.

Theme 6: Break Away

POV: Eric

Rating: T

No Turning Back

When I told her she was killing me, I wasn't kidding. Granted I had managed to convince the king that I did not need to meet the sun this time, but one way or another, I was going to meet my final death because of her unless she decides to let me turn her but I'm not holding my (unnecessary) breath on that one. And there is no turning back for me at this point.

I had tried to distance myself from her before. The first time, I'll admit, I didn't try very hard. That was after Jackson. I knew, though I hated to admit it, that she needed to work through her issues with Compton. Then one night, I woke up in her house, wearing clothing I had never seen before and was met with the sadness I could not explain in her expression when I spoke to her. Not knowing what had happened during the time I spent with her brought me back to her. I couldn't rest until I found out what had happened.

When I was finally able to force the answer from her, it greatly disturbed me and I turned away from her again. It was still not a serious attempt; I merely needed to think through what I had been told. Then I found out the exact specifications of the curse that the witch, Hallow had placed on me. I knew then, but I still kept my distance, especially since she ripped out my undead heart by choosing to date the weretiger. I did not, however, ignore her completely. I was there to tell her the truth about Compton and to save her during the celebration in New Orleans.

Then I formally bonded with her in Rhodes. I could feel her conflicted feelings and it hurt me to a degree to realize that she had no idea how she felt about me. When she saved Pam and me, though, I knew. She had not yet figured it out for herself, but I knew I held a bigger place in her heart than the tiger did. It was that event that once again brought me back to her. It was becoming more difficult each time to try to break away. I was convinced that I would never try again.

On the night of the takeover, I regained my memories of the time I had been cursed. What I remembered blew me away. Though I had told myself that I would never pull away from her again, I soon found it a necessity. Not only was I under constant scrutiny by the new regime, but she and I both needed time to figure out what needed to be said about my regained memories.

As the Fae War began, before she was kidnapped, we resumed a relationship similar to that we shared during the time I was cursed. She was magnificent. I could not believe I was finally going to have this girl as mine, no matter what I told her.

Then it happened. I failed to rescue her. I would have given anything to be there for her, but it was not possible. I was incapacitated by the pain she felt. I felt every bit of it, and it hurt me worse than any pain that had ever been inflicted on me, directly. I was afraid then, that my loving her had become a mute point. What good was it for me to give up trying to stay away from her, when she wanted nothing to do with me?

The night she showed up at Fangtasia to cry in my arms over all that she had lost (a/n: see previous chapter) became the real turning point in our relationship. Both of us have given up trying to run away from the other, or give the other space, whichever way you wanted to look at it.

Still, I say she will be the cause of my final death, for I will either receive punishment for disobeying orders to save her or I will willingly meet the sun when she inevitably parishes.

Maybe in the long run, it would have been better for both of us if I had managed to break away from her the first time I tried but there's nothing I can do about that now. Now there is no turning back. We have reached our understanding and confided in each other our true feelings. From now on, she will be mine. And I will be hers.

A/N: Next theme is "Heaven."


	7. Angel Watching Over Me

Disclaimer: Everything in the Southern Vampire universe belongs to Charlaine Harris, not to me.

A/N: This was a really difficult theme for me. It was really hard to figure out how to incorporate the theme "heaven" into a vampire story and keep everyone in character. I decided to follow the set-up of my first chapter and give Eric's POV during one of the books. It's set during the time Eric was cursed in Dead to the World.

Theme 7: Heaven

POV: Eric

Rating: K+

Angel Watching Over Me

There was a burst of light and then I knew nothing. My first thought was that I had been killed and made it to some version of Valhalla or heaven. Then it occurred to me that the one thing I remembered was that I was a vampire. I didn't seem to me that a vampire could make it to Valhalla or the Christian version of heaven. By the time this thought was fully formed the light was gone.

I took a quick look around and realized I was on a road, surrounded by the darkness of night, away from city lights. Having no idea who I was, why I was there, or who might be after me, I took off running. I didn't know where I was running to or what I was supposed to do when I got there. I just felt the compulsion to run.

It hadn't been long since I started running when I was enveloped by another bright light. I knew that this light was coming from the headlights of a car; a car that was slowing down and stopping.

"Can I help you?" a voice called out of the car window. I risked a brief glance in direction of the voice but kept on running. From behind me, I could hear the owner of the voice jump out of the car and yell again, "Eric! It's me!"

Still not certain of anything other than what I was, I had no reason to trust this voice so I whirled around and took a defensive position, fangs bared to show that I meant business.

The person standing before me was not at all what I expected to see. She was a young woman, fairly petite with blonde hair, the same shade as that falling around my own shoulders. She was standing with her hands out in front of her, in a gesture to show, I assumed, that she meant no harm. She had a slightly confused expression on her face and she was alone. I was still on alert, but something told me not to attack just yet. Idecided to start by warning her, verbally, "Stay back, woman."

"What are you doing here?" she asked, as if she knew me; knew who I was.

"Who are you?"

She gave a great sigh of exasperation, "You know darn good and well who I am. What's up with you? Why are you out here without your car?"

I decided it was worth the risk if there was a chance of finding out who I was, "You know me? Who I am?"

She looked completely stunned by the question. It took her a minute to form an answer but when she did, I wasn't disappointed, "Of course I know you, Eric. Unless you have an identical twin. You don't, right?

"I don't know," I answered her honestly but thought that the chances of a vampire having any kind of twin who still resembled him were pretty rare (A/N: keep in mind he doesn't remember Sigebert and Wybert).

"You don't know if you have a brother?"

"No. I don't know. Eric is my name?" I began to feel a little hopeful.

"Wow." She seemed as if she didn't know what to say' "Eric Northman is the name you go by these days. Why are you out here?"

After I informed her that I didn't know the answer to that question, either, she continued to question me. She seemed unable to believe that I couldn't remember anything about myself. I was torn between amusement and annoyance when she asked me if I knew I was a vampire. She very obviously wasn't one. I could smell her blood. If she tasted as good as she smelled, she would be sublime to drink from. However, I found myself promising I wouldn't hurt her. I was taken aback when she implored me to go with her, "Come get in my car before you freeze."

After reaffirming with her that we knew each other, I got in the car with her. I couldn't say why I did it, but whatever had compelled me to run earlier also compelled me to trust her. I was oddly touched when grabbed an afghan from the back seat of her car and wrapped it around me before turning the heat up. I was willing to bet she was colder than I was, despite my lack of clothing, but the act was comforting, perhaps to both of us. We talked a little in the car but it didn't amount to much since I still could not remember anything.

"Here we are," she announced as she pulled her car up in front of in old farmhouse. She led me up the stairs and on to the back porch before inviting me in. I followed her through the door, still clutching her blanket around me, though it offered little true security.

As she turned the lights on, she gave me a once over and sighed sadly, "Oh, Eric." She got out a pot and filled it with hot water before returning with the command, "Pull 'em off." Since the only visible garment I had on were a pair of jeans, I assumed that was what she meant and proceeded to pull them off. She threw them outside and I re-wrapped myself in the afghan and sat in the chair she pointed out for me.

Once I was seated, she knelt beside me with the pan of water and began to wash my bleeding feet. The sensation was so pleasurable that I let out a groan and began to wonder if I had been wrong and was indeed in heaven. To keep my mind off this bizarre thought, I grasped onto the one thing I could think of to talk to her about, "You were out in the night."

She answered my unasked question by informing me she had been at work. This started our first discussion about her. I found out that she worked at night in order to earn money for her house, car, and other necessities and that she had a brother who not only did not take care of her himself, but permitted her to work these hours. When I asked her about that she said, "Oh, for goodness sake, Eric. Jason's got his own problems." I was beginning to wonder what sort of world this was that I was in when I, a vampire with no memories as to who he was, wanted to take better care of this woman than her brother apparently did.

Before I could dwell too much on that she pulled my feet out of the water and stood up, "Listen, I think what I better do is call Pam. She'll probably know what's going on with you."

I searched for any memory of the name but came up blank, "Pam?"

"You're second in command," she answered, impatiently. I was about to inquire as to what position I held that I had a second in command but she cut me off, "Just hold on. Let me call her and find out what's happening."

I was struck by a sudden thought. What if this Pam was responsible for my current condition? I voiced this concern and was told that if that were the case, we needed to know that, as well. She had a point but I was interested in seeing how she was going to find out.

I didn't have to wait long. She grabbed the phone and a little book that I assumed was an address book before dialing the number. I listened in to both sides of the conversation and was impressed by her ability to get information without the direct questions she wanted answered, though I was affronted that she had the nerve to tell Pam, who I still didn't remember, that I was mentally damaged, even if it was the truth. After a long pause, the voice on the other end of the line asked, "Will he be a danger to you?"

Sitting up, I stared at the woman in front of me. I wanted to be able to gauge her emotions as she answered. She paused for the briefest of moments, seeming more amused by the question than in deliberation of her response before replying, "I don't think so at the moment."

That was all I felt I need to hear of the conversation for now. She was right; I wouldn't harm her and it seemed that the vampires loyal to me were still loyal to me. I stopped trying to listen in, but I still caught bits and pieces, specifically the mention of witches. That would make some sense. I couldn't think of many other things that could erase the memories of vampires.

Hanging up the phone, the blonde woman raised her eyes to mine. Her head tilted endearingly to the side as she surveyed me. She seemed to fight a brief internal battle before falling on the side of filling me in other the phone conversation. I was informed that my second in command would be arriving the following night to get me and explain in further detail what had happened to put me in this position. I can't say that I minded staying with her, but was still fighting that nagging fear, "You won't let anyone get in?"

"Eric, I'll do my best to keep you safe," her voice was gentle and tired. I realized suddenly that it was quite late for most humans to be awake so I didn't hesitate when she began to pull me down the hallway. She led me into a small bedroom and showed me a trapdoor in the closet floor, leading to a light proof hole where I would be able to spend the daylight hours.

"Do I have to get in now?"

Her brows furrowed into a concerned expression before she answered, "No. You don't have to. Just get in before sunrise. There's no way you could miss that, right? I mean, you couldn't fall asleep and wake up in the sun?"

I considered it for a minute and was shocked to discover that along with remembering that I was a vampire, I remembered everything about being a vampire in general. It was only I, specifically, that I had forgotten. I informed her that there was no way I could miss the pull of sunrise and asked her if I could stay with her in her room until then.

"Come on," she said with a snicker before leading me to the room across the hall. I sat in a chair and watched as she took off her shoes and socks and pulled a sleeping garment out of a drawer. When she disappeared into the bathroom I felt lost. She was all I knew in the world right now and for ten minutes she, too, was gone.

When she returned, she turned out the lights and crawled into bed. Not wanting to lose my anchor on the world around me, I climbed in with her, hoping she wouldn't try to throw me out. Luckily she seemed inclined to believe that sleep was more important than kicking me out of her bed. Before she finally nodded off, I had one bit of information I desperately wanted to discover that night, "Woman?"

"Hmmm?' was her mumbled reply.

"What's your name?"

She answered with all the amusement her half-asleep mind could provide, "Sookie. Sookie Stackhouse."

Though she couldn't see it, I smiled into the darkness, "Thank you, Sookie."

"Welcome, Eric," She did something then that surprised and pleased me. She reached out and slid her hand over my own. I turned mine so that our palms were touching and entwined our fingers. As I watched her drift off to sleep, I marveled over this woman who would not only take in a lost vampire but would fall asleep holding his hand. I thought to myself that I must have been wrong earlier. Vampires must be able to get into Valhalla or heaven or whatever equivalent they had believed in during their human life. It had to be possible because I didn't see how this woman, Sookie Stackhouse, could be anything other than an angel.

A/N: There it is the longest chapter so far. The next theme is "Innocence." I'll try my hardest to get it up by the end of the weekend.


	8. Like a Child

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire Mysteries universe.

A/N: Only one day late. This chapter went through several re-writes before ending up this way. I even toyed with the idea of writing this chapter from Sam's point of view, but decided against it. If you are interested in seeing other characters points of view in later chapters, though, please let me know.

Theme 8: Innocence

POV: Sookie

Rating: T (to be on the safe side)

Like a Child

I have recently come to the conclusion that people in general vastly underestimate their own innocence. I don't know what it says about the day and age in which we live, but it seems nobody wants to believe themselves "innocent."

Due to my telepathy and the fact that I lost my parents at such a young age., I thought of myself as less than innocent a long time ago. I knew that I was still innocent in the traditional sense; seeing as I was, at the time, still a virgin. But I had seen so many less than savory things in the minds of others that I felt that had to count for something. I had very little notion how innocent I still was.

When I slept with Bill the first time, I realized that I had been more innocent than I had thought, because I lost more innocence than I had imagined I would. I don't, even to this day, regret losing my virginity to Bill, but it began to wake me up to how truly innocent I had been, especially since this happened around the same time Gran was murdered. The two events combined made me think I had lost all the innocence I ever had.

I became deeper entrenched in "vampire shit" as I like to call it. So many things began to happen to me. I was almost killed by Rene, attacked by the maend, attacked by the Fellowship of the sun. With each of these events I felt a little more innocence slip away, but I began to realize that there was still some left, if I could keep losing it.

The next event that precipitated my ponderings on my own innocence was being staked in Jackson. To be more honest, it was the events that happened after I was staked. I was already feeling less than pure from my thoughts about Alcide, when I didn't really know the status of my relationship with Bill, but then I almost slept with Eric. That was so far beyond my normal behavior that I wanted to believe it wasn't really me. If I ever actually thought that, I was deluding myself more than should be possible.

Interestingly enough, Eric also brought about a new feeling of innocence in me during the time he was cursed. Part of it was his own innocence. I don't mean sexual innocence, because I'm not sure he's ever had that, but his innocence of nature. During the time he was cursed, Eric was gentle and scared and lost much of his normal arrogance. Part of it was the feeling of safety I felt with him. Even though I knew it was fleeting, our time together was everything I dreamed I would one day have. That feeling went away when Eric's memory was restored.

The packmaster contest took away something different entirely. It was the belief in the general good of humankind. The things I saw that day have never left me despite the fact that I have seen a good many things that were more violent.

The vampire summit held both another attack by the Fellowship, and my bonding with Eric. I don't really know which one had a bigger impact on by emotional state; my sense of purity and innocence, in the long run. But I tell you, I felt afterwards, like I had never felt before, and I was angry about it.

Finding out that Bill had seduced me under false pretenses added to my loss of innocence and the takeover added to my emotional turmoil but the next big event didn't take place until the Fairy War. When Lachlan and Neve held me captive, the tortured and violated me in every way they had time to. Not only did I think I could now truly kiss innocence good-bye, I was not sure I would remain whole as a person. Although, I suppose a person without any innocence couldn't be whole.

What finally taught be the true power of innocence and made me come to the conclusion that people underestimate their innocence and purity (in the most childlike sense) came from my great-grandfathers parting words to me. He told me that the vampire was a good man and that he loved me.

At first, this message drove me crazy for being so cryptic. Then I realized that underneath the need to discover which vampire he meant, I felt in overwhelming sense of hope. That my Niall would speak for either of them, made me believe that some happiness was possible for me after everything. After all, my great grandfather was a fairy and a fairy's blessing always ends in the princess's wish being granted. When I thought that, I realized that no matter what the future held for me, I would be able to retain some childlike innocence, and I, for one, was perfectly happy to admit that.

A/N: Next theme is "Drive." Hope to get it up before I leave on vacation Thursday night. I don't know whether I will be able to update while I'm gone, but if possible, I will.


	9. Driven

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire Mysteries universe.

A/N: First I want to say thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. You have all made me really happy. Since I see a lot of you tend to like the stories that are from Eric's point of view (which are the ones I usually like writing better) here is another one. It's short but it was a quick update!

Theme 9: Drive

POV: Eric

Rating: T

Driven

I have always been a very driven man; in my human life and as a vampire. Before I became the sheriff of Area 5, Sophie-Anne asked me what it was that motivated me. My immediate reply was to tell her that she had asked a very loaded question. I even though I was able to answer perfectly well; I knew that the longer I existed, the more the answer would evolve.

At the time I told her, "I am motivated by sex, money and hunger; in that order." To some degree the answer included power, too, but that is not something you tell a vampire whose rank is superior to yours while hoping to secure a position under them. And every vampire, regardless of age, is driven, to some degree by hunger.

It was a satisfying answer, particularly for a vampire of my age. It showed that I was not heavily swayed by emotions, which some vampires are prone to be, no matter how old. It also bespoke my age, for a younger vampire would have answered much differently, as I once did.

A newly turned vampire is always motivated by the same to things, bloodlust (more literally than most humans mean it) and hunger. There is such a craving for blood when you first awaken in your new state that it is the only thing that drives you. Even the greatest vampires, began their undead lives in this way.

The hunger remains for a long time after the bloodlust changes to simple lust. Never let it be said that vampires are not sexual creatures. The knowledge that sex, for us, is generally without consequences, makes it that much simpler to be motivated by lust and sex.

The need to acquire as much money (or power) as possible, does not appear in every vampire. Some prefer to live as simply as possible Even when it does appear, it usually doesn't form for several hundred years and rarely takes place in vampires who stay always near their sires; an unusual circumstance to begin with. I figured, once I reached a certain age, that if my existence was going to be so long, it might as well be passed in style.

My own personal motivation remained the same for such a long time, that everyone assumed it would stay the same. Eric Northman was a vampire driven by sex, money, hunger, and a certain amount of power. I did not, by any means, wish to become a king. These things are what motivated me to take the position of sheriff of Area 5. They were what motivated me to open Fangtasia after the revelation. They were the reasons I began to pursue Sookie Stackhouse.

But Sookie Stackhouse was something I hadn't counted on. She was something I had never come across in my 1000 year existence. She was the reason my motivation changed. After I regained my memories from the time I was cursed, and found out what the curse had been. My motivation geared more towards what would please Sookie. After the Fairy War, my motivation was Sookie's protection.

I am driven to the same degree as I ever was, but for the first time in my life, my drive comes from something other than improving my own situation. In my long existence, I had read of such a thing happening, many times, but I never believed it really could until, after a thousand years of thinking only of myself, I suddenly wasn't my main concern anymore.

This change in my motivation will more than likely get me into a lot of trouble and I imagine that if it were the answer I had given Sophie-Anne all those years ago, I might not have survived, much less been appointed a sheriff. When it comes right down to it, however, I believe it is the strongest motivation I have ever felt, and I have always been a very driven man.

A/N: Next theme is "Breathe Again."


	10. What Did You Do?

Disclaimer: Everything in the Southern Vampire Mysteries universe belongs to Charlaine Harris.

A/N: I'm not sure what I think of this one. There are parts I like and parts I don't. I tried to make it a little longer than normal to make up for not being able to update last week while I was on vacation.

Theme 10: Breathe Again

POV: Sookie

Rating: T

What Did You Do?

Amelia called to tell me she was coming to visit me. I had asked her to meet me for lunch in Shreveport, since that was where I was spending most of my time these days. She told me that that would work well for her, too since she was planning of visiting Tray's grave anyway. What she failed to mention was that she was bringing someone along with her.

The man, I assumed it was a male, you could never be too sure with some types of supes, was one of the stranger beings I had encountered in some time. His skin was the color of café au lait but was covered by an intricate pattern in blue that even crept across his face and over the top of his bald head. I couldn't help staring, rude as it may be until Amelia was amused enough to introduce her guest, "Sookie, I'd like you to meet Amani, I believe he's probably the first of his kind you've ever met. He's the first of his kind I've ever met."

"If you don't mind me asking, Amani, what exactly are you?" I couldn't think of a more polite way to phrase such a question.

Amelia answered for him, "Amani is a djinn."

"A djinn? You mean like a genie?"

Amelia smiled while Amani gave the impression that he would like to roll his eyes but both nodded. I couldn't help the string of questions that came out of my mouth, "So do you grant people's wishes? How does it work? You don't actually live in a lamp do you?"

Amelia laughed out loud, "I asked that last question, too."

"It doesn't work quite the way it does in current pop culture," Amani spoke for the first time, "I do not live in a lamp and I do not grant my master three wishes. As a matter of fact, I have no master. I may choose to bless or curse anyone I please."

That sounded fairly ominous, "Bless or curse?"

Amani nodded again, "It depends on the person's personality. What I do is look into a person's soul and see their greatest desire. I can choose to make it come true or not. For some, having their greatest wish come true is a blessing. For others, those who are selfish or cruel, however, it usually ends up as a curse. Many people do not realize what their greatest desire actually is."

"Have you seen mine?" I couldn't say that I knew what my greatest wish was. It would be interesting to find out.

"I have," Amani informed me, "and I have chosen to grant it, for it intrigues me. Most people wish for something a little more permanent."

With that cryptic answer he refused to say more about what he had seen in me until we were parting ways. He then spoke, "You will find your desire shortly. You have until midnight tomorrow night. I hope you use it well."

I puzzled over what that could mean on my way back to Eric's house. It didn't take me long to figure it out once I got there. Though it was still mid-afternoon, Eric was sitting on his sofa, looking closer to panicked than I have ever seen him before. He also looked human. His skin was still pale, but not as pale as it normally was. He was taking deep breaths as if after so many years of breathing being unnecessary to him, he had forgotten how to do it. I stared dumbfounded for a moment before saying, "Oh. So that's what he meant?"

"What who meant?" asked Eric, the panic on his face being replaced with a reproving look, "What do you mean? Did something happen while you were out? What did you do?"

Now Eric wasn't usually one to ask a series of questions without waiting for answers so I knew just how great a shock this was to him, "I met a djinn."

"And you wished me human?!"

"Not exactly," I replied, "besides, it's only temporary."

He narrowed his eyes briefly, "What do you mean, 'not exactly'?"

"He said he looked into my soul and saw my greatest desire. He chose to grant it because he was amused that a human would want something so temporary. I didn't actually have a clue what he meant until I got here."

"And you do now?"

I nodded, "I've always wondered what you would be like if you were human. My wish must have been to have the chance to spend one day with you as normal humans. I wonder if that means I've lost my telepathy, too."

Eric appeared to be less concerned by this than by finding out how long he would remain human, "So, it's going to last for one day?"

"And change," I answered, "Amani, that's the djinn, said it would end at midnight tomorrow night."

Eric gave a discontented sigh, "Fine. I will call Pam and inform her that I will not be at Fangtasia tonight or tomorrow."

"I didn't know this could actually happen," I replied, for I could tell he was angry; he wasn't using contractions, "I didn't even know that djinn actually existed until today. And you can't fault me for wanting to know what a normal human relationship is like. I've never had one."

"Just try to stay out of trouble until I'm back to normal."

"Who, me?" I asked as sweetly as I could.

He couldn't help the grin that came over his face. At that moment I knew he was no longer mad; still worried but not mad. The look on his face reminded me of the look he gets when he's about to go into battle. He was actually a little bit excited about the idea of spending a day as a normal human with me. He got a mischievous grin on his face, "So, what should we do first?"

"Oh, I have an idea," I replied, returning his grin before I jumped up and ran to the kitchen. Eric followed at a much slower pace. When he entered he had such a bewildered look on his face it was almost comical. I answered the question that he hadn't asked, "You're going to try some of my favorite foods and drinks. Is there anything you want to try?"

He thought for a moment, "I don't know. It's been so long since I've eaten human food and there are so many foods that didn't exist when I was human. I can't say that I would know where to begin."

"Well, with only a day, we should go with all the best junk foods. We've gotta get McDonald's take-out; I love the fries there. And we should get chocolate and coffee. Oh, we should see if we can find cotton candy anywhere."

Eric grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him, "That all sounds just fine. We'll try to work it all in…tomorrow. Right now, my appetite leans in quite another direction. As long as it's been since I've eaten human food, it's been just as long since I've done other things as a human as well."

I gave him my best impersonation of his own smirk, "Well, far be it from me to leave you hungry."

We retired upstairs and spent the rest of our waking time satiating his appetite. When I woke the next morning, it was to the still strange sensation of a warm body next to me and a warm arm around my waist. It was, after all, only the second time I had had sex with someone who wasn't a vampire. It was such a strange experience to sleep with Eric while he was human. It was at once familiar and entirely new. Luckily, his stamina was not much affected by his being human for a time. I rolled over to face him, and stared wonderingly at the rise and fall of his chest. So intent was I in my observations that I failed to recognize the change in his consciousness until I felt his arm tighten. I glanced up and met his gaze. His eyes sparkled differently in the sunlight than I had ever seen before.

He smiled down at me and tightened his grip before rolling over onto his back and bringing me along to end up stretched out on top of him, "I'm beginning to believe there are some good points to this whole being human for a day."

Devilishly, I raised myself up and asked, "So, you ready to try some food?"

The growling noise that was my reply actually made me giggle, "Don't tell me you still haven't satisfied your other appetite?" Again I was answered with a growl, "Okay we'll take care of that first but I do want to see your face as you try these new foods."

Several hours later, and after a repeat performance of the night before her, we were on our way out to find as many new foods for Eric as we possibly could. I was not disappointed by his reactions, both good and bad. I was delighted that we were able to find cotton candy at a small corner store. His expression at the taste of spun sugar was to die for. He did not seem to have a taste for coffee and he sneezed when he tried a soda. There were several tense moments when I thought he was going to kill himself due to trying to eat and breathe at the same time.

After filling ourselves to nearly bursting, we spent the afternoon sitting out in the sun, watching clouds. He lay stretched out with his hands behind his head while I lay my head on his stomach, bobbing around as he continued to his normal, human breathing. Despite, or perhaps partially because of, this lack of true activity, it was one of the most pleasant days I could recall.

That evening, we watched a movie, Eric trying his first popcorn, before returning to the bedroom. As midnight approached, Eric turned to me and asked, in the oddly uncertain voice I had last heard when he had lost his memory, "Are you sad that our day as normal humans is almost at an end?"

I thought long and hard about the answer to that, "No. It was a very nice day and I'm glad to have been able to spend it with you, but as nice as it was to see you breathe again for a day, I like the life I live with my Viking vampire. Despite everything, I wouldn't trade my life with you for the life of any normal human."

"And you are the only woman I have ever met that would willingly become human again for, for a day at least."

I reached up to kiss his lips, which were slowly cooling to their, normal familiar vampire temperature, "I love you, Eric,"

"And I you, Dear One."

A/N: The next theme is "Memory."


	11. Everything

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire Mysteries Universe.

A/N: I'm back. I did not abandon this story. We're back to Eric's POV, which I like better. Takes place during From Dead to Worse. Contains a lot of the actual dialogue this time.

Theme 11: Memory

POV:  Eric

Rating: K+

Everything

I raced up the stairs as fast as I could, "Bill, let me in. The sooner, the better!" The door opened and Bill led me through the hall to where Sookie, the witch and the tiger's sister were waiting.

"I was cut off from the club," I explained, "My house was no good, not by myself. I couldn't reach anyone else. I got your message, Bill. So, Sookie, I'm here to ask for your hospitality."

If circumstances hadn't been so dire I would have smiled when I realized she didn't even give it a thought before she answered, "Of course. But maybe we should go to…."

She didn't get a chance to finish her thought because at that moment, the idiotic sister of that weretiger suddenly started panicking Before she could cause too much trouble, Bill stepped in front of her and glamoured her into inaction. After thanking him, Sookie spoke to the room in general, "I'm going to get my shotgun."

Before I had a chance to think about what I was doing, I moved to the front closet and extracted said shotgun. How on earth did I know that was there? Puzzled as I was, I turned back to hand the gun to Sookie. She met my eyes with her own wide ones. Understanding crossed her face and I realized I must have seen her place the gun there while I was cursed.

She broke her gaze and turned to Amelia, her expression changing to one of apprehension. I was about to ask what was wrong but the witch chose that moment to open her mouth, "Are we getting all excited about nothing? Maybe we're panicking for no good reason."

The look Bill gave her was absolutely priceless. I'm sure mine might have matched it if I still weren't reeling over the shotgun incident. To try to help take my thoughts off it, I began to make a circuit of all the doors and windows. Unfortunately it did not take much time. I returned to the living room just in time to realize the witch had continued her speech.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Amelia is explaining to me why there's no rational reason the vampires would come after me in their attempt to conquer the state," Sookie filled me in.

"Of course they'll come," I glanced briefly at the witch, who did not seem to have the understanding of the supernatural world that she should before turning my gaze to the tiger's sister, who still sat in her trancelike state. I was more nervous than I cared to let on and wasn't sure where I could look, to keep that fact hidden. I moved to the window and looked out only to have the image of Sookie and I running over to Bill's house flash into my mind, "Sookie's got a blood tie to me. And now I am here."

"Yeah. Thanks a lot, Eric for making a beeline for this house," Amelia sarcastically echoed my own thoughts, as I began to realize just how much my presence might increase the amount of danger Sookie was put in, but I wasn't about to let her know that. Instead I questioned her about her strengths as a witch and her connections through her father and mentor.

I could feel pride coming through the bond as Amelia reluctantly gave in, speaking more to Sookie than to me, "Yeah. Okay, they'd be happy if they could corral us. But still, if Eric hadn't come here, I don't think we'd need to worry about physical injury."

I didn't comment that she would be lucky if physical injury was the extent of what happened here tonight. Sookie had a comment, though, "You're wondering if we're actually in danger? Vampires, excited, bloodlust?"

That was my girl. Nice biting remarks aimed at someone else's stupidity. She really was a good match for me.

Amelia wasn't finished, "We won't be any use if we're not alive."

"Accidents happen," replied Sookie and Bill snorted. Sookie turned her attention to me, "Why did Pam leave?"

"She can be of more value at the club, and she can tell me if they are sealed in it or not. It was stupid of me to call them all and tell them to gather; I should have told them to scatter." I explained. It had been stupid. It was an amateur mistake and one I don't think I would have made if my mind hadn't been preoccupied with Sookie's safety.

Bill checked outside again but no one was here yet. My phone rang and it was Pam informing me that most of the Area 5 vampires were at Fangtasia. I passed the message on to Bill, who nodded before turning to Sookie and asking where Claudine was. I saw a vision of Claudine standing in Merlotte's, surrounded by Weres and shifters.

"I have no idea. But I don't think she'll come, because you guys are here. There's no point in her showing up to defend me if you and Eric can't keep your fangs off her."

She had an excellent point. Throwing a fairy into the mix right now would only serve to further complicate the situation. I was drawn out of my thoughts as I caught the sound Bill had caught a fraction of a second earlier; the sound of a large cat growling. He turned to me, "Not the company I would have chosen but we'll make a good showing. I do regret the women."

I could both agree and disagree with Bill's statement. It was not normally the company I would have chosen, but it may come in handy toward keeping Sookie safe. I feel the need to explain this, however, so I merely replied, "We're not in our graves yet."

I could tell the exact moment that the women could hear the cars, for the witch gave a gasp of fear and the tiger's sister's eyes widened in fright. Sookie seemed to be bracing herself for battle. Moments later there was a knock. At least the witch's wards seemed to be holding up; the knock came not from the door but from one of the support beams on the porch. That was good. Sookie was moving slowly toward the door. That was bad. Bill stepped in front of her and asked, "Who is there?"

The cheerful voice that answered made me groan and close my eyes, "It is I, the vampire, Victor Madden."

Well, that was just great. Victor Madden was about the last vampire I wanted to deal with right now. I knew now that this wouldn't just be a fight to the death scenario. Things were never simple, by vampire standards, when Victor Madden was involved.

I was vaguely aware of an exchange of words between Sookie and Bill but she obviously didn't get the information she wanted for she called out, "Friend or foe?"

Victor laughed his irritating laugh and replied, "That's an excellent question and one only you can answer. Do I have the honor of talking to Sookie Stackhouse, famed telepath?"

Sookie made me proud as she replied, without losing the calm in her voice, "You have the honor of talking to Sookie Stackhouse, barmaid."

As she said this, I heard my own voice in my head ask, "Woman? What is your name?"

The tiger growled again and I could tell by the way she froze up that Sookie heard it, too, this time. The witch was babbling to herself as Sookie remained still. After a minute, she turned to her roommate to inform her that the tiger was with the Las Vegas vampires. They started a whole dialogue as to why the tiger was there while Bill and I silently discussed how we could pull off the best possible outcome.

Both exchanges were interrupted as Victor called out, "May we come in? Or may we treat with one of you face-to-face? You seem to have quite a few safeguards on the house."

The witch congratulated herself but it didn't help to release anyone else's tension. Knowing it may be last chance I ever had to do so, I kissed Sookie and said, more to convince myself than her, "He'll spare you. You're too unique to waste."

I opened the door. Pleasantries were exchanged. Victor lied to me about the number of companions he had with him, though seemed more impressed than upset when I called him out on it. We spent the next immeasurable amount of time discussing the takeover and negotiating terms. I was informed that the queen and other sheriffs had all been disposed of and that I was the only remaining member of the old regime. This was because I was the most efficient, most productive, most practical and had a big moneymaker working for me. I was informed that the new king would like to leave me in my current position, at least on a trial basis. I knew what the alternative was but I wasn't about to let him know my decision at this point.

The negotiations were briefly interrupted when the tiger burst through the door after his sister began to scream. Victor calmed him but then I had to prevent Sookie from calling Niall. I stared her down as I explained, "We can't bring him in or a war will start that will kill all of us."

In response Victor said, "There's no one you can call who would help you in this situation. Unless there is something I don't know about you?"

Again, my own voice echoed through my head, "You know me? Who am I?"

This voice was replaced by Bill's, in the real world, "There is much you don't know about Sookie. Know this: I will die for her. If you harm her, I'll kill you." He turned to me at this point, "Can you say the same?"

I could say the same and it would be very much the truth, but it would hardly help us out at this point. In fact, it would probably make things worse. They were willing to let us live, as things stood, but if _I_ were to announce to Victor that I would kill him over a human, I had a feeling we would not see a happy outcome. So I replied, "You must also know this. Even more pertinently, if anything happens to her, forces you can't imagine will be set into motion."

After another brief exchange of wits, I informed Victor that I accept the sovereignty of de Castro as king and Bill did the same.

As soon as Victor left, I turned and fled to Sookie's room to think. I had no idea why I headed there, only that it seemed like the most comforting place to be. I sat down on the bed and was suddenly assaulted by a blur of images that started with a car pulling up behind me on the street to her house and ended with me climbing into the hidey hole in the closet after the battle with the witches. Every last detail of the time I had spent here came crashing back into my memory. I had felt myself more attached to Sookie since the curse had been lifted, without knowing why. Now I had my answer, even if I could barely bring myself to believe it.

I loved Sookie. I was so happy during my time here, despite everything that was going on around us. And she, she had told me that she cared for me as well. I buried by face in my hands, feeling mentally exhausted; something I was not used to. I remained that way until the door opened and I looked up and saw Sookie. Feeling shocked and helpless, I spoke in a voice I wasn't even sure she would hear, "Sitting here on your bed, smelling your scent…Sookie…I remember everything."

A/N: Next theme is "Insanity."


	12. Too Close for Comfort

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire Mysteries universe.

A/N: This one is really short. I had more trouble with this theme than any other so far so please forgive the shortness. I promise a longer chapter for the next theme.

Theme 12: Insanity

POV: Eric

Rating: T

Too Close For Comfort

"We've had reports of activity suggesting an unsatisfied maenad again," Pam was, as always, right to the point when she walked into the office that night.

"Can you confirm this?"

Pam arched an eyebrow in response, "I've sent someone out to check, we'll know soon enough. I thought you might want a heads up in case this one decides to send you a message, as well."

I shuddered at the thought. The last time a maenad had decided to send me a message; Sookie was poisoned and, later, almost driven mad. The poison wasn't so bad. We were able to take care of that, in a most enjoyable way; at least for us vampires. But if a maenad were to make a serious attempt at turning anyone mad, there would be nothing I could do to stop it. And it wouldn't have to be directed at Sookie. As a telepath, if she were anywhere near the maenads intended target, she would feel the effects, as well.

The memory of her terror the last time is one of the images I would wish I could erase from my memory, except that then I wouldn't be prepared to protect her the next time. Compton and I had never before acted more as one mind; trying to shield her from the minds of the others. I wish to never know what it is that Sookie saw or heard during her brush with madness.

When things really got bad, I covered her mouth with my hand to keep her from screaming out. She bit me. It was the second time she tasted my blood. In other circumstances, I might have been grateful for that. I didn't give it a second thought at the time. It was easy to tell when it ended. Sookie went limp and Bill laid her on my car. There were a few seconds there when I was worried that she had been permanently damaged but in the time it took for that thought to form, the maenad was staring down at her.

With her gaze fixed intently on Sookie, the maenad had said, "You were close. You were very close. Maybe as close as you'll ever come, maybe not. I've never seen anyone maddened by the insanity of others. An entertaining thought."

I wanted to tear the maenad head off in that moment, but Sookie merely made a sarcastic comment. I thought about what the maenad had said. Sookie _had_ been close. Too close for comfort. My comfort. That is why I now have Pam report to me immediately if there is any activity indicative of a maenad's presence. With a sigh, I got up to check our supply of wine and see about getting another live bull.

A/N: Next theme is "Misfortune."


	13. The Grass is Always Greener

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire Mysteries universe.

A/N: Hey everyone. I wanted to let you know that the reason for the delay this time was medical. I had surgery earlier this month and my recovery was not quite what I was expecting but I'm doing much better now.

Theme 13: Misfortune

POV: Sookie

Rating: T

The Grass is Always Greener

People always tell you, the grass is greener on the other side. I've never been sure I believed it. Growing up, I didn't have a glamorous life, but I was mostly happy with the way I lived. That's not to say I didn't have my problems, but it was generally pretty peaceful. It wasn't until right before I met Bill that I began to wish for a little more excitement. People also say you should be careful what you wish for.

I may never have been what you would call an "average person" but I at least used to have an average person's luck, aside from my parents dying young. Even then, I had my gran to take care of me and Jason. My lucky days would involve finding a twenty dollar bill in a parking lot or turning on the television when I got home from work and being surprised to find my favorite movie on. My bad luck was pretty much average, too. Aside from being sickened by people's thoughts sometimes, my bad luck rarely included anything more serious than stubbing my toe on a dining room chair, spilling a beer at work, or getting a flat tire. In those days, any one of those things could potentially ruin a day. If they all happened on the same day, my life seemed like a disaster. I thought, then, that I would give anything not to have days like that.

This of course was all before I met Bill. Nothing in my life has been average since then. I my opinion, my bad luck has increased exponentially. I have come close to dying far more times than I would like to count, I have lost several family members (although, to be honest, some of them I didn't know I had until after I became involved with supes), my brother was turned into a werepanther and I have been kidnapped and tortured. From the way the supes in my life have been talking, I don't think my luck is going to change for the better anytime soon. It is still uncertain whether Bill will recover from silver poisoning or not, and Eric's cryptic comments have left me on edge.

On the plus side, because of the amount of vampire blood I've ingested, and possibly my bond with Eric, I no longer am nearly as susceptible to stubbing my toe, or spilling beer or any other minor clumsy accident as I once was. I also know, thanks to my great-grandfather, that at least one of the vampire's I had been in a relationship with did actually love me (the problem being that I didn't know which one).

So the question is, how does it all balance out in the end? Whether big or small, I suppose everyone has to face some misfortune in their life. By have all of these large problems come up, does that cut down on the small annoyances I will have to face for the rest of my life? As much as I sometimes wish it, would it even be possible to go back to my old life now? Would I trade the troubles of my past for the troubles of my present? There are many questions brought up when I think about misfortunes (mostly mine, but I am trying to think more about the problems others are facing) that I don't have the answer to.

Now there are days when I wish I could go back to having a bad day mean I had stubbed my toe and dropped beer and had a flat tire. I would even throw in several overdue bills in the mail and the roof leaking. There are other days when I know if I went back to that life I could never be satisfied. I think that I am starting to believe that old proverb about the grass always being greener on the other side; even when it applies to disasters.

A/N: Next theme is "Smile."


	14. Reading People

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire Mysteries universe.

A/N: So, I decided to try something a little different this time. It makes this chapter a bit short but once the idea struck me, I had to try it.

Theme 14: Smile

POV: Eric

Rating: T

Reading People

**S**ince I met Sookie, I have spent more time than I care to admit thinking about the facial expressions humans use. I the thousand years of my existence, I have become very good at reading vampires and other supernatural beings, but have lost a lot of my ability to read human emotions. It was never something that bothered me. I never felt that humans were worth the effort to try and read. But Sookie was different. It was not long after I met her that I found myself wanting to know everything she was thinking or feeling.

**M**ore often than not, the emotion I had seen on human faces had been fear. This changed some after the revelation. There was still plenty of fear out there, but lust was right up there with it. Not that that should be surprising. Even after all my years as a vampire, I know that for humans, lust and fear often go hand in hand. The emotions I had seen on seen on Supes had been more varied, but were usually not positive. Bloodlust, hatred, anger, pride, and vanity were some of the most prevalent emotions you could find in a group of Supes. Not that I should say anything, I have spent time feeling these emotions as well. But I have been told that I seem to experience more joie de vie, ironically, than your average Supe.

**I** have come to the conclusions, in my musings, that the most difficult expression to read on a human face is a smile. Humans, and Supes if you get right down to it, have so many variations on smiles to mean so many different things. Glares represent anger. Frowns represent displeasure. Fearful, surprised or lustful expressions are all easy to read. A smile isn't. This is truer with Sookie than with most humans I've observed. She has the forced smile she uses when she's frustrated or angry and still trying to be polite. She has what she calls her "crazy Sookie smile" that she uses when she's uncomfortable with a situation. She has a nostalgic smile and devious smile. She has a sad smile and is even beginning to develop what I call a "thrill of the fight smile" although I'm sure she doesn't realize that yet. She has her polite smile she uses when meeting new people; the first smile I ever saw on her face and an amused smile. Topping all of these, though, is her genuine smile. The look she gets when she is perfectly happy. It is her rarest and best smile.

**L**ately, I am beginning to wonder just what she is doing to me. I spend too much time dwelling on that genuine smile and thinking about ways to make it appear on her face, directed at me. Pam might be right, Sookie is making me soft. That's a dangerous position for me to be in, but I don't seem to be able to do anything about it. Maybe, just maybe, I don't want to do anything about it, not that I would ever admit that to anyone, save maybe Sookie herself.

**E**ventually, something will have to change. Change is inevitable and unpredictable. Maybe she will see things my way and we can have something of a future together. Maybe one or both of us will meet our final death before that can happen. Maybe, though I don't think it's likely, I will lose interest in her and her emotions and her smiles. Something will change. Something has already changed. I have changed. I now spend time trying to read people. I tried to read Sookie. I try to make her smile.

A/N: The next theme is "Silence."


	15. Silence Ringing In My Ears

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire Mysteries Universe.

Theme 15: Silence

POV: Sookie

Rating: K+

Silence Ringing in My Ears

I used to long for silence because it was something I never experienced. Even if everyone around me was silent, their minds never were. The first time I met Bill, I was overjoyed by the fact that I couldn't hear him unless he was speaking. I couldn't read his thoughts and he moved so silently most of the time that if he didn't want me to hear him, I wouldn't. At the time I thought silence was golden.

The first time I had a glimpse of Eric's mind, I was terrified. Mostly I was terrified because I believed that if I were able to read a vampire's mind and if that were to become common knowledge, I would certainly have a very short time left to live. If I'm being completely honest, though, I will admit that part of me was terrified of losing the silent sanctuary I had found. Silence was no longer golden; it was platinum.

Vampires are no longer silent to me. I can hear one standing behind me right now. Your average person might be fearful, but I know that no harm is coming to me. The vampire behind me is one I am familiar with, even if I was surprised since he was supposed to be in Las Vegas. He's the one who broke my long sought after silence.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked him, "You know you can't sneak up on me anymore."

He gave me his most innocent look, which, given that he is a vampire, wasn't very innocent, "Me? Why on earth would I try to sneak up on anyone?"

I rolled my eyes and replied sarcastically, "Gee, I can't think of a single reason. But you weren't trying to sneak up on anyone. You were trying to sneak up on me. That won't work. I can hear you from miles away."

"You think I don't know that?"

"Well, then," I continued our banter, "I repeat my original question; what do you think you're doing?"

Now he smirked, "I came looking for you."

"Obviously. I guess, what I really meant was why were you looking for me?"

"Well, then, that's what you should have asked."

Sighing, I asked, "Are you ever going to answer the question?"

Now it was his turn to sigh, "You have to understand before I answer, that I wouldn't say this in front of anyone but you. You have to swear you won't repeat what I'm about to say."

Oh, boy. This was going to either be really good or really bad. Trying to hold back my 'Crazy Sookie' smile, I nodded vigorously to show that I agreed to his condition.

"When I woke up this evening, it was quiet."

I almost laughed out loud and couldn't even begin to contain the grin that appeared on my face. After biting my lip to try to regain some composure, I replied, "That's it? It was quiet? I didn't know that vampires were bothered by quiet. You spend your downtime in absolute silence and you're hearing is so good, I wouldn't think things would be any quieter for you than they would be for me in a room full of silently thinking people. Not to mention, you were in Vegas, how quiet could it have been?"

"I was actually started the trip back to Louisiana last night. I was about halfway here when I stopped for the night," Eric explained, "and not that it really matters, the kind of quiet I was talking about would have been just as present right on The Strip."

"I'm not sure I understand," I didn't mean for that to sound as apologetic as it did.

He gave me a look that was somewhere between pleading and exasperated, "I couldn't hear _you_ as well from that distance."

Still feeling like I was missing something, I replied, "I would imagine not. Even with vampire hearing, that's quite a distance."

"I mean through the bond." I stared at him for a moment and he continued, "I can hear you through the bond. Not your voice; more like your presence. It's like a humming or ringing."

Suddenly, everything began to make sense. I knew what he was talking about. I could hear him, too. It wasn't a ringing or humming sound for me. His presence was more like a tickle or the sound of a feather floating on the breeze. It was a sound so soft as to usually go unnoticed, but I suddenly knew that I would realize if it ever stopped completely.

Seeing my look of comprehension he asked, "Do you understand what I mean? And why you can't tell anyone about my being bothered by the quiet?"

Speechless, all I could do was nod, never taking my eyes off his.

He wasn't done yet, "When the bond is quieted by distance, it makes me worry. If you were to run into trouble, which let's face it, you have a knack for, I might not know. I want to get back to reassure myself that you're okay; that your sound isn't going to disappear."

My heart melted a little. Here was a man – vampire – who had survived for a thousand years by building walls around the 'human' emotions he had once felt and now he was, not for the first time, pouring his unbeating heart out to me. So I gave him a gift in return and told him, "I can hear you, too. Not as loudly as you describe it, but I can. That's probably why I didn't notice the difference the distance made. But I know I notice if you disappeared from my head entirely. I don't want that to happen."

With those words, I knew something had changed in me forever. I used to long for silence because it was something I had never experienced. Now I had experienced it and lost it. Now I knew that if silence ever found me again, it would likely be more deafening than any sound I had ever heard.

A/N: The next theme is "Questioning."


	16. Twenty Questions

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire Mysteries universe.

Theme 16: Questioning

POV: Sookie

Rating: K+

Twenty Questions

I never imagined when I agreed to try a relationship with Eric that he would want to be so involved in my somewhat normal, everyday human life. Case in point, I can hear him coming down the hall from the hidey hole now that the sun has set. He is going to try and ask me every question he can think of about what might have happened during the day.

"Good evening, Dear One," he said as he entered the living room, "How was your day? Everything went smoothly? Any trouble during your shift at the bar? You look tired; are you feeling okay?"

I put out my hands to stop the questions, "Slow down, Eric. What do you think this is, Twenty Questions?"

Eric gave me a quizzical look before replying, "Of course it wasn't twenty questions. Clearly, I only asked you four questions. I never understood why humans always use the number twenty when they think someone is asking a lot of questions."

"Oh, Eric," I laughed, "Are you telling me you've never played Twenty Questions? It's a game children play."

"I've never played. How does one go about doing so?"

I had to smile. How many people get to teach a thousand year old Viking vampire how to play a children's game? Breathing deeply, I answered, "You need two or more people. One of them thinks of something; it could be a person or a place or an object. The other person, or people, gets twenty questions to help them figure out what the first person is thinking of. Often there is a rule saying that the questions have to be ones that have a yes or no answer."

"Can I try playing it?"

I shrugged, "Sure, why not? Do you want to think of the thing first or ask questions first?"

"I'm going to try the questions first. Isn't that the point of playing this game?"

I couldn't argue with that so I glanced around the room, looking for something he could ask about. Finally, I found something I thought would work, "Okay, I've got one."

"Is it…" Eric smirked, "in this room?"

"Yes."

He glanced around the room, "Is it closer to me than to you?"

"Um…no," I had to think about that one before I answered.

"Is it the sofa?"

"No, and most people don't actually try to guess what it is by the third guess," I answered.

His next question made me laugh, "Is it bigger than I am?"

"What do I have in here besides my sofa that is bigger than you? No."

"Is it near the TV?"

"Yes."

"Is it…" he leaned over to grab at the video sitting on top of my old VCR, "Gone With the Wind?"

He had me there, "Yes. I can't believe you got it in five questions. Are you sure you've never played this before?"

"Of course," replied Eric, "But I've always been a pretty fast learner. Now I believe it is your turn to ask the questions.

"Oh, alright. Just let me know when you're ready."

With his most charming smile he replied, "I'm ready now."

I briefly wondered if there was a double meaning in that reply before I asked my first question, "Is it a place?"

He shook his head, "Definitely not."

"Is it solid?"

Eric nodded.

"Is it yellow?" I decided to go with a wild guess; you never know when those will help.

Eric looked thoughtful for a moment, "Part of it."

"So, it's multicolored?"

"Yes," smirked Eric, "I think that would be a good description."

A streak of mischief caused the next question to pop out of my mouth, "Is it smaller than you are?"

With a smile on his face, Eric nodded.

"Is it smaller than I am?"

Eric laughed. He was actually laughing at my questions. I felt slightly offended before he managed to control himself enough to answer in the negative.

Now I was really confused. What was taller than me, shorter than Eric and multicolored? I was drawing a blank. I was grasping at straws, "Is it a type of tree?"

All I got in response was a shake of his head.

"Is it an animal?"

"Technically, yes" I could tell that he knew how confused I was and he was finding it highly amusing.

"Technically, yes" I muttered, glaring at him, "Is it a shifter, then?"

"No," he replied, laughing even harder.

I'm sure my face was completely screwed up in concentration by this point, "Is it an animal that makes sounds that humans can hear."

"Definitely," he didn't laugh this time, but the smirk didn't leave his face.

"Is it native to the U.S.?"

"As far as I'm aware," he replied, "and I'm pretty knowledgeable on the subject."

"The Southeast?"

"Uh-huh."

"Is it…" I paused as I tried to think of another question, "something I've seen before?"

"Quite often.."

Now I know I'm lost because the next question out of my mouth was, "It's not Pam, is it?"

His response was his loudest laugh so far today.

"Jason?"

No response this time. I didn't need one, I knew the right answer. There was no reason Eric would have thought of Jason. It was time to try to redeem myself.

"Is it the full length mirror in my room?"

"No," he answered, "but that was not a bad guess."

"But, I've seen it often?"

"If you haven't, you must be blind," he said.

I sighed, "You know, I'm out. I give up. I don't know what you're thinking of."

"You're only three questions away but, alright, I'll give you a hint," he told me,, "it's something I think of very often. Most often. Sometimes, I can even believe I dream about it; though I have never clearly remembered dreaming."

I smiled, finally having some idea what he was talking about, "Tell me."

"It's you."

A/N: Next theme is: "Blood."


	17. First Taste

\

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire Mysteries universe.

A/N: With this chapter, we return to Eric's POV. I haven't written a chapter from his viewpoint in awhile and, in all honesty, I like them better. This one is taken from Living Dead in Dallas, after the maenad's attack.

Theme 17: Blood

POV: Eric

Rating: T

First Taste

From my office, I could hear a pounding on the back door before Pam answered it with an irritated, "What?" her voice change completely as she continued, "Oh, Bill. What's happened? Oh, yum, she's bleeding."

I was so distracted by the last sentence; I almost missed Compton's reply, "Get Eric."

"He's been waiting in here," Pam told him, unnecessarily, because he had already pushed passed her and charged into my office with Sookie slung over his shoulder. I was sorry to see that she did not look well at all.

"This is on your account," Compton snarled at me, shaking Sookie in the process and making her moan in pain. I could have killed him at that moment. I was about to ponder why this would be when Sookie started muttering under her breath.

"What, my darling?" asked Compton.

Her, now very clear, response was, "Go to _hell_."

Under other circumstances, I might have laughed, seeing Compton put in his place by this wisp of a human girl. Right now, though, it seemed that seeing to Sookie was probably more important, "We must lay her on her stomach on the couch. Here, let me…" I grabbed Sookie's legs and between the two of us, Compton and I managed to arrange her carefully on my new leather couch. Then I turned away from Sookie for a moment, "Pam, call the doctor."

I crouched down next to the couch so that I could look Sookie in the face as I asked her, "What has happened to you?"

Even in her obviously weakened state, she managed to glare at me, "I am a message to you. This woman in the woods made Bill's car stop, and maybe even made us argue, and then she came up to me with this hog."

"A _pig_?" That caught me by surprise. Why would someone have attacked Sookie with a hog?

Still glaring, she continued, "Oink, oink. Razorback. Wild pig. And she said she wanted to send you a message, and I turned in time to keep her from getting my face, but she got my back, and then she left."

I sucked in an unnecessary breath as I heard Compton's shocked voice say, "Your face. She would have gotten your face." Then he turned to me, "Eric, her cuts are not so deep. What's wrong with her?"

I had been wondering the same thing. I had some idea, but I was hoping I was wrong. If I was right, it wouldn't be my fault, in the strictest of senses, that this had happened, but it would be close enough and I found myself not wanting to be to blame for Sookie's injuries. I turned back to face her and asked as gently as I could, "Sookie, what did this woman look like?"

"She looked nuts, I'll tell you how she looked," Sookie answered, her eyes darting from my face to my hair as it pooled next to hers on the couch, "And she called you Eric Northman."

I thought for a moment before replying, "That's the last name I use for human dealings. By looking nuts, you mean she looked…how?"

"Her clothes were all ragged and she had blood around her mouth and in her teeth, like she'd just eaten something raw. She was carrying this kind of wand thing, with something on the end of it. Her hair was long and tangled…look, speaking of hair, my hair is getting stuck to my back," her voice was getting continually weaker and the last part came out as a gasp.

I looked down at the bloody mess that was her back, and thought I could almost feel the pain myself, "Yes, I see." I carefully reached down and began to pull her hair away from her wounds, trying hard not to cause her any more pain.

Pam re-entered my office, then, with Dr. Ludwig, close behind her. Sookie carefully scrutinized the doctor before, questioning, "What kind of doctor are you?"

"The healing kind," replied Dr. Ludwig, "You have been poisoned."

If my heart had still been beating, I think it would have stopped at those words. True, I had expected as much, but I wasn't truly prepared to hear it spoken out loud. I tried to tell myself, it was just because I hadn't yet won Sookie's attention, as I would have liked, but part of me did wonder if I was being honest with myself.

Sookie, however, merely muttered, "So that's why I keep thinking I'm going to die."

"You will, quite soon." Usually I appreciated Dr. Ludwig's frankness, but right now, I could do with a little sugar coating. I was sure Sookie could, as well.

But, Sookie surprised me again, "Thanks a lot, Doc. What can you do about that?"

I moved my gaze to the doctor as she spoke, "We don't have a lot of choices. You've been poisoned. Have you ever heard of Komodo dragons?"

Where was she going with this? If Sookie's life was in danger, she should be trying to save her, not going on about dragons. I noticed Sookie's attempt to shake her head.

"Their mouths are teeming with bacteria," the doctor continued, "Well, maenad wounds have the same toxic level. After a dragon has bitten you, the creature tracks you for hours, waiting for the bacteria to kill you. For maenads, the delayed death adds to the fun. For Komodo dragons, who knows?"

Who knows? Who cares? Hurry up and fix Sookie, already. Sookie, herself, seemed to agree with me. "What can you do?" she asks, through gritted teeth.

Dr. Ludwig seems strangely happy as she replies, "I can dose the exterior wounds. But your blood stream has been compromised, and your blood must be removed and replaced. That is a job for the vampires." She turned to face us; the vampires, "If only one of you takes the poisoned blood, that one will be pretty miserable. It's the element of magic that the maenad imparts. The Komodo dragon bite would be no problem for you guys."

I hated her right now. This was hardly the laughing matter she was making it out to be. She didn't understand that the girl on the couch was important to me. Important enough that I would gladly be the only one taking her poisoned blood. As it was, I planned on being the first.

Dr. Ludwig went on to explain that each of us would take turns removing some blood before Sookie would be given a transfusion. This roused Sookie a little bit, for she struggled to raise her head as she choked out, "Of human blood."

"If Eric can pull some strings and get the human blood, at least half the transfusion can be synthetic," continued the doctor, then she gazed directly at Sookie, "I'm Dr. Ludwig, by the way."

Sure, introduce yourself, after you've gone on about Komodo dragons and told the girl, she needs to have her blood sucked out by a group of vampires. Some supernatural beings really have no sense of common decency.

To calm myself, I jumped into the conversation, "I can get the blood, and we owe her the healing. What is your type, Sookie?"

"O positive."

"That shouldn't be a problem." I told her, glad to hear she had a common blood type, which also happened to be one of my favorites, "Can you take care of that, Pam?"

As Pam left to get the blood, the doctor began her treatment of the exterior wounds on Sookie's back. Sookie seemed to have a problem with the doctor's type of treatment and was putting up quite a struggle, for someone so weakened by the maenad's poison. Finally, to calm her down I reproached her, "She is the healer. You must accept her treatment."

Sookie pouted, but gave in and, in the process, more or less demanded an apology from me. I gave her a generic response and she told me she expected something more. With a smile, I gave in to her request, "Angelic Sookie, vision of love and beauty, I am prostrate that the evil wicked maenad violated your smooth and voluptuous body, in an attempt to deliver a message to me."

"That's more like it," she replied, her voice almost too low for my vampire hearing to pick up, "I take it the message means that she's going to war with you?"

"Not exactly," I replied, while taking her in. She looked terrible. Her skin was taking on an odd, yellowish green tinge that actually frightened me more than I cared to let on, "Pam?"

"It's on the way. This is bad."

Thank you for the understatement, Pam.

Compton sounded frantic as he commanded, "Start. She's changing color."

Sookie shrieked and Dr. Ludwig jumped up from her seat and moved to examine Sookie's eyes before stating, "Yes, if there's to be any hope."

I needed no more encouragement. Before the others could move, I was kneeling by Sookie again. Before I bent my head to bite, I winked. Her eyes closed and I lowered my fangs to her neck. If I had known what I had been missing, I would have stepped up my plan to take her from Bill a long time ago. Her blood, even spoiled with the maednad's poison, was the most divine blood I had ever tasted from a human. It reminded me of the attraction fairy's hold for vampires. I knew in that moment that I must someday have Sookie as my own. When I had drunk my share of her blood, the others almost had to pull me away, I was so reluctant to let go.

I have heard human's say that the first taste is with the eyes. While this was true, even with vampires, nothing could have prepared me for the taste of Sookie's blood. I have also heard that the first taste is the best. I did not know if this was true or not, but I knew that I was willing to put that theory to the test.

A/N: The next theme is "Rainbow."


	18. Rainbow Connection

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire Mysteries universe.

A/N: Sorry about the delay. I had serious writer's block with this chapter. It's still not my favorite, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Theme 18: Rainbow

POV: Sookie

Rating: T

Rainbow Connection

As the car wound up the narrow lane, I found myself more nervous than I would have expected. Eric sat next to me in the driver's seat, smirking. He knew exactly what I was thinking, damn him, and he found it amusing.

He glanced over at me, "How are you doing, Dear One?"

"As if you don't know," I sassed back.

"What are you nervous about?" he inquired, "It's just a house."

I shrugged. The fact was, it wasn't just a house we were going to; it was HIS house; or one of them. It was my first time visiting Eric's house as a simple guest of his. It was my first time visiting any vampire's house without a war to plan or information to gather or some other similar mission. I really had no idea what to expect. Scratch that. I knew what was likely to happen tonight, but not what to expect of the house itself. It appeared I wouldn't have to wait long to find out. Eric pulled up to a gate and punched in a code.

The house was easy to see as it was well lit. It was not your stereotypical vampire dwelling. While the house was on the large side, it was a simple colonial style. What really surprised me was that it appeared to be painted in a light lemon yellow. I smiled, "Yellow? Really?"

Eric shrugged, "What? Pam is the only vampire allowed to like colors other than red and black?"

I laughed as he pulled the car up into the garage, "Of course not. If you recall I've even seen you wear pink before. I just somehow didn't expect such a typical suburban color."

Eric merely laughed as he parked and opened the door, leaping out of the car and around to my door before I even had a chance to reach for it. He pulled me out of the car, acting like an eager child about to open presents on Christmas morning. He practically dragged me through the door and into the house, by way of the kitchen.

"Don't they make houses without kitchens, specifically for vampires, these days?"

"They do," confirmed Eric, "But, I bought this house before the Revelation. Also, it is safer for vampires, especially those in positions of power, to live in standard houses. Houses without kitchens are only sold to vampires. This way, it could be anyone's house. I even keep the kitchen fully stocked."

"So I see," I answered, glancing around the room. It was a beautiful kitchen, done up in country blue and oak. It was the kind of kitchen you would expect to see in a magazine, "What do you do with all the food? You can't just keep it forever."

"No, every Thursday, I send donations to local food banks and buy more. Helps keep up the charade, regularly having grocery bags and receipts stowed away. "

"Food banks?" I asked, incredulously, "You mean you actually do something charitable toward us mere humans?"

Eric pretended to look offended, "Of course I do. I have to take pity on such lesser beings. Besides, you, my dear, are not a mere human, if I may remind you."

"That may be true, but I'm still more human than you are."

"But I was once more human than you are," Eric retorted. I stuck my tongue out at him and he grinned, "Very mature. Now, come, I will give you the grand tour."

As Eric led me through his home, my amazement grew. I shouldn't have been so surprised that someone with such a vibrant personality would surround themselves with color, but I was. Every room seemed to be a different color. A deep red living room, a mossy green in the laundry room, a library in rich orange and brown, colored more so by the fact that it contained, so many books, and the biggest surprise a small bathroom downstairs was painted a delicate lavender ("To help keep the front of the typical suburban home," Eric informed me.)

We headed upstairs and he stopped in front of a particular door, seeming uncertain as to what he should do next. This peaked my curiosity, for Eric was usually so confident it was ridiculous. I pushed my way past him, teasing him as I went, "What? Is the might Viking afraid to show his girlfriend the bedroom?"

The smile was wiped off my face and replaced by a look of awe as I entered the room. I knew as soon as I opened the door that this was the only room in the house decorated with white paint. In that room there was no need for paint. It was a very sparsely furnished room. A single, cushiony chair sat against one wall and the opposite wall held a huge, blown up photograph depicting a rainbow arching down into a silvery lake.

I turned around to face Eric, full of questions and not knowing which one to ask first. I didn't need to. Eric decided to answer before I could form a single word, "I keep that here for many reasons. I existed for many years before the Revelation. In those years, we vampires were forced to live in darkness. As you know, we can see just fine in the dark, however, our ability to distinguish colors is still impaired. We don't see in gray as humans do, but all colors appear faded and muddy in the darkness. I keep this picture and paint my house in such a manner as a way of turning my back on obscurity."

I nodded my understanding. Eric was a champion at adjusting to what his existence threw his way. That was why he has been able to survive for so long. But still, Eric's personality is not one that could easily be reconciled with having to live in the shadows for so long, "That's one reason. What are the others?"

"I will tell you only one other reason tonight," he said, "The rest are insignificant. But I keep this as a reminder that some things seem to remain the same no matter how the world changes around us. In a thousand years, I have seen many changes. Climates change, countries, allies, industry, technology, even pictures I see of sunsets look vastly different than they did a thousand years ago. Rainbows, however, look the same. Granted, each one is a little different, but the keep the same shape, the same colors, that they have always held. It is a reminder to keep certain parts of me the same, as well as a reminder of how much I need to continue to adapt with the times."

I stared at Eric for what felt like an eternity. I have heard him give deep speeches before, but it has always been when one or both of us was in danger. Hearing him speak like this now, it threw me for a loop. I tilted my head to view him from a different angle and he suddenly smiled at me. The spell was broken. I could notice the world around me again and Eric was once again his usual self.

As if to prove this point, he stepped towards me, pulled me back to the door and said, "Come, now, Lover, we've been in here long enough. Don't you want to find out what color the bedroom is?"

I returned his smile. He already knew my answer.

A/N: Next theme is "Gray."


	19. Roses Are Red, Cities Are Gray

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire Mysteries universe.

A/N: So sorry about the delay everyone. I was sick and then my internet was down for an entire week and then it was Thanksgiving, which means craziness. So, again, I apologize. For anyone from Seattle, please don't be offended by this chapter, I grew up in Seattle myself and I love the city, I simply chose it because I'm familiar with it. Incidentally, gray is one of the few neutral colors that I really like.

Theme 19: Gray

POV: Sookie

Rating: T

Roses Are Red, Cities Are Gray

I sighed as I stared out the window of the hotel room I was staying in. Here I was wrapped up right in the middle of all that vampire shit again. Part of me was wishing I had never laid eyes on a vampire. The other part of me was anxious for the vampire currently sleeping in the lightproof chamber of the suite I was in to awaken. The sky was slowly getting darker so it wouldn't be long now.

This trip is different than the other's I've been on for vampire business because of the aforementioned vampire. I was the first trip that he insisted I share a suite with him. He said that after what happened during the Fairy War that he didn't want me further from him than that, but I still secretly believe that he's trying to increase his chances of getting some action. After all, we still live individually back home, but I decided not to waste my time point that out to him. I don't want him to get the wrong idea. I love my house and am still perfectly content to live there.

The sound of a door opening startles me out of my thoughts and before I turn towards the sound, I notice that the sky has become full dark and the artificial lights of the city are lit up like a Christmas tree. When I noticed this, I knew at once where the sound came from. Before I have fully turned to face him, I am greeting him, "Good evening, Eric. Sleep well?"

He chuckled, "Same as always, Dear One, same as always."

"Of course, how could I forget? Vampires always sleep like the dead."

"Truer words were never spoken," he replied, "And you, Lover? How did you pass the long, lonely day without me?"

"Well," I sighed, "Seeing as you didn't want me wandering around unattended, I spent the day reading a Seattle guide book and contemplating how dreary cities in general look at this time of year."

Eric moved past me, glanced out the window and remarked "It doesn't look particularly dreary to me."

"Of course it doesn't," I said. Seeing his confused look, I continued, "You've only ever seen cities like this at night, when they're all lit up and have the glow of neon signs brightening up the night. You have no idea how dull cities look in the daylight."

"Then explain it to me."

That took me by surprise and I thought for a moment before answering, "Cities in the daylight are alright on bright, clear, sunny days, but now, in late fall there's nothing but gray everywhere you look. Even today, without rain, the sky was still gray. The streets are gray. Most of the buildings are gray. Even the trees in the city look like you're viewing them through a gray filter."

Eric surprised me again as he burst out laughing. I scowled at him in return and snapped, "What?"

"It's just that, it occurs to me that you must have never seen the Experience Music Project, in the city center."

I shook my head, "Why?"

"Let's just say," he seemed to be choosing his wording carefully, "that the building is colorful enough to make up for a whole city of gray. I'll try to take you there after we have concluded our business here. But, while we're on the subject, why don't you like the color gray?"

"No reason, it just seems like a dreary color," I answered.

Eric shook his head, "The Sookie I know doesn't dislike things for no reason. Think about it. What made you start to dislike gray."

I thought about it long and hard before I answered and was shocked at what I learned, "You're right. I didn't always dislike the color gray. It's just been so long, that I didn't make the connection. The day my parents died was a gray day. I remember staring out the window that day, watching rain fall from a dark gray sky. Less than an hour later, my parents were dead."

"I suppose that is a good enough reason," Eric told me, "but I don't want you forever to associate something as mundane as a color with sadness. When we have some free moments, I will take you out into the city, which despite being lit up at night is still the same gray city you saw today, and I will show you the time of your life. But you have to promise me one thing."

"What's that?" I asked

"You have to remember, from now on, that the time of your life was had in a gray, dreary looking city."

Mystified, I nodded, "Okay, but why?"

Eric smirked, "No reason really, I just happen to like the color gray."

A/N: Next theme is "Fortitude."


	20. Proud of You

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire Mysteries Universe.

A/N: Wow! We've reached the one fifth mark. I'd like to thank everyone who is reading this for all your support and great reviews. Really, it's overwhelming (in a good way, of course). I hope you continue to enjoy the next 80 chapters as well. This chapter is a scene from Dead and Gone from Eric's point of view.

Theme 20: Fortitude

POV: Eric

Rating: T

Proud of You

I stood, staring at the door to her room, trying to determine what would be the best course of action once I entered. I didn't have much time to contemplate my actions, because the door I was staring at suddenly swung open and I was assaulted by the divine scent that is fairy. As Claudine stepped away to collect her things, Sookie became visible to me and I to her.

The fairy moved past me out the door and I moved beside Sookie's bed to gaze down upon her. Her face was a terrible mixture of colors, bruising mainly purple with patches of blue, green and yellow. The cuts added shades of red and brown to the mix. Though I tried hard to contain it, I'm sure the rage I felt showed clearly upon my face. Unable to help myself, I snarled, "Fucking fairies."

Though I could tell it cost her she whispered, "Dead now."

I knew that I should take some satisfaction in that fact, but I could only wish that I had been the one who had killed them, "Yes. A fast death was too good for them."

I expected some resistance to this statement but Sookie merely nodded in agreement. That told me all I needed to now. They had hurt her so much more than any of us could see. She had received injuries that I would be unable to heal. Others, though, I could at least help with, "I'm going to look at your wounds."

"Okay," she winced as she said it, though I could tell it was not from the pain of her wounds this time. She did not really want me looking at her. She felt unattractive and undesirable now. It was with some relief that I noted she was willing to trust me enough to see her in such a state.

I pulled down the sheets and blanket and asked her to pull up her hospital gown. Before she even attempted to move, I realized she wasn't capable of even that simple action and I did it for her.

If I were human, I would have sucked in a breath at the sight before me. The bruises and cuts were just the beginning. Among these were a scattering of deep bite marks and areas where chunks of flesh were missing. Oddly enough, the rage disappeared with the sight of all this damage. What I felt now was pride. I was proud of Sookie for hanging on, for surviving. If she had been an ordinary human, she would have surely died, maybe even killed herself. However, even without fairy blood, Sookie was a rather remarkable human being. Her will to survive and endure was so vastly beyond any other human of my acquaintance.

After I had taken a full inventory of her injuries, I covered her up. I needed to heal her, but I would need to replenish afterwards, "I'll be back in a minute." Once I was out of the room, I moved as quickly as I could to fetch the bottles of TrueBlood I would need and returned to her room just as quickly.

When I reached her side, I placed the bottles on the floor and instructed her to move over. In response, she gazed up at me in confusion. More impatiently than I meant to, I repeated my instructions. For the second time that night, I realized that, extraordinary or not, she was still mostly human and much more fragile than any supernatural being. She didn't have the strength to move herself. As gently as I could, I slid an arm behind her back and one under her knees and slid her to one side, before climbing onto the bed next to her.

Now was the time to be blunt, "I'm going to feed you."

"What?" she still had that confused look upon her face.

"I'm going to give you blood," I clarified, "You'll take weeks to heal otherwise. We don't have that kind of time." Finally, it seemed, she understood. In any case, I felt her start to relax next to me. I tore into my wrist with my fangs and held it up to her mouth, "Here."

I raised her up so she wouldn't choke as my blood slid down her throat. She drank more greedily than I have ever known her to. If the circumstances had been different, I would have been elated. As it was, all I felt was a sense of urgency. At one point, my wrist healed, and I reopened the wound. At this point, Sookie momentarily pulled away and asked, with effort, "Are you sure you should do this?"

"Yes," I said, "I know how much is too much. And I fed well before I came here. You need to be able to move." I was only being partially honest. I did know how much was too much, but if she needed it, I would gladly have given her every drop of blood in my body. She would surely be the final death of me.

Sookie, meanwhile seemed to have no idea what I was actually thinking, she was fixated on what I had said. Anxiously, she repeated, "Move?"

I knew she was worried that she would still be too weak to move. She had also thought she was safe here and was frightened to learn she might not be. As much as I would have liked to protect her, she had to know the truth, so I explained to her that the fairies would now be able to track her by the scent of the fairies who had tortured her and that their knowing of Niall's affection for her would make them only too happy to track her down and finish what had been started.

In the middle of my explanation, she pulled her mouth away from my wrist and broke down in tears. Her tears hurt me almost as much as the sight of what the fairies had done to her, but I had to remain practical to keep her alive, so, stroking her cheek, I used a firm but gentle voice, reserved only for her, "Stop that now. You must be strong. I'm very proud of you, you hear me?"

I had never been more honest in my life. Her resilience made me more proud of her than I think I had ever been of anyone before in my existence. She didn't seem to believe me though, for she asked, pleadingly, "Why?'

"You are still together; you are still a person." I answered her honestly, as she began to drink from my wrist again, "Lochlan and Neave have left vampires and fairies in rags – literally, rags…but you survived and your personality and soul are intact."

She straightened up long enough to retort, "I got rescued," before returning to my wrist.

"You would have survived much more." I answered as I reached for one of the bottles of TrueBlood, and I knew that I spoke the truth.

"I wouldn't have wanted to," she pulled completely away from me now, to look up at me, "I hardly wanted to live after…."

I interrupted that train of thought by placing a kiss on her forehead, "But you did live. And they died. And you are mine, and you will be mind. They will not get you."

I had to believe that. I had to believe in her will to live and my ability to protect her from now on. I had to believe in the fortitude of our combined strengths, now more than ever because the future had just become more dangerous than I was willing to let on, and the alternative was something I couldn't stand to think about. No matter what happened now, I had to believe that we would endure it. Together.

A/N: Next theme is "Vacation."


	21. Silver Lining

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire Mysteries.

A/N: So, so sorry about the long delay in this chapters. I've been without a computer for awhile. I'll try my best to get the next few updates done quickly.

Theme 21: Vacation

POV: Sookie

Rating: T

**Silver Lining**

I sighed as I heard another vacation giveaway on the radio. I was currently on the closest thing to a real vacation that I'd had since I first met Bill. Not that it was much of a vacation. I was stuck in bed most of the time, recovering from the injuries that Lochlan and Neave had inflicted on me. Still, it was time to mostly to myself. I wasn't working, at Merlotte's or for vampires or shifters or any other group of supernatural beings. I had time to think and ponder. I was beginning to realize that this is not always a good thing.

The thing I've been thinking about the most is what Niall said to me before he left. I spent so much time trying to figure out which vampire he was talking about. I wished, not for the first time, that the people (or Supes) in my life would ditch the habit of being constantly cryptic. As I pondered his meaning, my thoughts obviously turned towards the direction of the two vampires he could have been speaking about.

There was Bill. Bill was my first. He was my first boyfriend, first person I had sex with, first vampire, first everything. He believes he still loves me, but I'm not sure I can ever trust him again. To top it off, I don't know how he's doing. I haven't heard an update in days. Maybe he's recovering; maybe he's dying a final death. If it's the latter, I sure hope he wasn't the one Niall was talking about.

Eric on the other hand, was an enigma to me. He seems to believe he loves me now as well and I would trust him with my life. I'm just not sure I'm ready to trust him with my heart. He has also developed the habit of speaking cryptically lately. The thing he said the night of my rescue have come back to haunt me and I wish to know meanings behind them.

I think about Sam, who has been the best boss anyone could ask for, and a great friend to boot. If I had never gotten involved with vampires, there could have been something there, so I wonder 'what if…." before realizing there's no point, since I can't change the past.

Mundane, everyday things fill my head, as well. I wonder how I'm going to catch up on my household chores. I think about how bad my hair must look, having gone unwashed for several days. I think about the fact that everyone on the radio sound very similar. This brings me back to my current pondering as they call the winner of the paradise vacation. I've heard it said before that people often wish they could take a vacation to recover from their vacation. I would like to take a vacation to recover from my recovery. But one of the conclusions I have come to recently, is that I will most likely never have a normal vacation again. If I try to take a vacation alone, or with human friends, I stand the risk of being attacked by enemies of Niall's or Eric's or the King's. If I take a vacation with a Supe , which would more than likely mean my working for the Supe in question, it's not likely to be very relaxing.

The conclusion I'm coming to in all this? Make the best out of a bad situation and enjoy my current break from everything but my thoughts. What do they say? Every cloud has a silver lining if you look hard enough.

A/N: Next theme is "Mother Nature."


	22. Mother Nature's Daughter

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire Mysteries universe.

A/N: Okay, so it has been forever and a day since I last posted, but I will not completely abandon this collection. That said, here is theme 22, it's on the short side, but I'm already working on the next theme, too. Rated for one swear word.

**Theme 22:** **Mother Nature**

**POV: **** Sookie**

**Rating:**** K+**

**Mother Nature's Daughter**

More and more often these days, I find myself humming as I go about my chores and errands for today. Today, I didn't even realize I was doing it until Eric asked me about it as he came in the room, freshly awakened from his daytime slumber, "What is that you're humming, lover? It sounds very upbeat."

The thought of Eric being interested in this type of music surprised me but I was surprised he didn't recognize it. Or maybe he was just testing me, as he occasionally did, "It's Mother Nature's Son, and old Beatles song."

"A little before your time, isn't it?" he asked, "What made you think of that song?"

"The Beatles transcend time," I informed him, proud to be able to use the word transcend, "Besides, I've always kinda liked this song. It sounds like how I always wanted to live."

"You always wanted to be male?" Eric teased me.

"Of course not," I elbowed him in the ribs, not that he even felt it, "but it sounds so peaceful. I thought that's the way my life should be, seeing as I was born a poor, young country _girl_."

"So you always envisioned yourself as sort of a mother nature's daughter?"

I"Growing up?" I sighed, "Yeah, I'd have to say that would have been my ideal. It wasn't exactly easy growing up as a telepath. Mother nature's daughter sounded so much more tempting."

Eric stared at me pensively for a moment. When he finally spoke, what he said surprised me, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I'm sure I was frowning in confusion.

"For dragging you into all the 'vampire shit' as you call it," he replied, "we vampires took you even farther from your ideal life."

I fought back a giggle, "Thanks, Eric. But really, I had pretty much outgrown the whole idea before I met any of you. Honestly, by the time Bill walked into Merlotte's for the first time I was eager to meet a vampire. Granted, I've regretted it a few times since."

"Do you regret it now?" Eric sounded more uncertain than he usually did.

"Do you even have to ask? What good is this bond if it doesn't answer that question?" I teased. Then, more seriously, "No, I don't regret it. Right now, I couldn't imagine trying to live such an ordinary life. I think I would die of boredom."

Though Eric hissed as I mentioned my death, even in that sense, he smiled, "I am very glad to hear that. "

I beamed back at him in response, "Me, too."

A/N: Next theme is "Cat." Watch for it, coming soon.


	23. Greeneyed Monster

Disclaimer: I own no part of the Southern Vampire Mysteries universe.

A/N: So my only excuse for the slow updates is a stressful year so far. I started writing this before DR, and will now post it assuming that the mess with the Queen of Oklahoma eventually gets resolved. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

**Theme 23:** Cat

**POV:** Sookie

**Rating:** K

**Green-eyed Monster**

Walking downstairs late on Christmas Eve, I wasn't that surprised to find Eric sitting in my living room. We had made plans for the evening and he usually let himself in, although he then usually sought me out right away. Even his staying in the living room wasn't unheard of, though.

What did surprise me was the very simple cardboard box that he was holding, undecorated except for a single red bow at the top. This surprised me for many reasons. First, I hadn't been sure that Eric was even aware that it was Christmas Eve. Being a vampire, who had not been a Christian in life, he had no real reason to acknowledge the holiday. Second, when Eric did give me gifts, which let's face it, is way more often than he probably should, they are usually much more elaborately wrapped.

I raised one eyebrow at him in a silent question, but he merely grinned at me in response and beckoned me closer. As I got near the sofa on which he was sitting, I noticed something else about the box. At the top, surrounding the red bow, were several small holes. Now I was even more curious, and a little nervous. I didn't really need to discover any more supernatural or mythical creatures tonight, thank you very much. Still, I trusted Eric not to get anything dangerous for me, so I reached out to take the box.

As Eric watched me move to open the lid of the box, he seemed as excited as a child on, well, Christmas morning. I removed the top and peeked inside. Looking back at me, with eyes in the middle of changing from blue to green, was the cutest little calico kitten I had ever seen. It was also my favorite gift I had ever received from Eric. My eyes filled with tears as I glanced back up at him.

Now it was his turned to quirk an eyebrow, "Why are you crying, Dear One? I thought you would be pleased."

"Oh, Eric," I replied, wiping my tears and reaching for the kitten, "I am pleased. This is the best present ever."

Eric roared with laughter, "I offer to buy you jewelry or a car and you yell at me. If I knew I cat was the way to win your affection, I would have done so a long time ago."

"You managed to win my affection, anyway. The cat would have just helped you reach your goal a little sooner," I told him, teasingly.

"I remember once you told me you had a cat that was killed around the time we first met. And even with Bob, who was only in cat form, you seemed to find comfort in the animal presence. Not that I was pleased by that in that particular situation. But I thought, since this is a special holiday for you, maybe it was time you received a daytime companion who had nothing to fear from me."

I had to laugh at his reasoning, "Well, not matter why you got her for me, she's absolutely perfect. Thank you."

I turned back to my new pet, "You need a name don't you, Little One? I know it might not be very original but I think I'm going to call you Callie."

I sat and played with Callie for a few minutes before I began to feel Eric's intense gaze on me. When I looked up, he had an unusual expression on his face, so I questioned him about it.

"I was thinking," he informed me, "that this might not have been my best idea ever. It seems I am learning, though I will deny it if you ever repeat it, that I am not above being jealous of a cat."

A/N: Next theme is "No Time".


	24. In the Blink of an Eye

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire Mysteries universe.

A/N: Sorry if you tried to read this chapter to find that it wasn't there. I debated with myself over a couple of options for this chapter an initially posted the wrong one so I had delete it so I could post this (the correct) one.

Theme 24: No Time

POV: Eric

Rating: T

**The Blink of an Eye**

There never seemed to be enough time where the two of us were concerned. I never had enough time to think before I acted; never had enough time to explain my actions or my feelings. And sometimes it felt like there wasn't enough time to make sure she was and always would be mine. All these instances have reinforced her humanity and the fact that everything could change in the blink of an eye.

It started the night of her first visit to Fangtasia. That night, I was already so certain that she belonged beside me instead of Compton. He was unworthy of such a delicate and delicious human. I believed then, and still do now, that if I had had the time that night, I could have made her mine from the very beginning. Unfortunately, that was the first situation in which there was no time, as she warned me of the undercover cop about to raid the club and our impromptu exit cut the evening short.

The second time I felt that there was no time was during the interrogation of the Fantasia employees, when it was discovered Long Shadow was the one embezzling money from my business. In this chance we were both lacking in time. She had no time to react before Long Shadow attacked, and was left pinned under him as he tried to strangle her. I could have taken time to consider my action but, for once in my undead life, I didn't. I simply acted, taking no time to form a thought further than that I would be saving Sookie's life. That was more worrisome to me than anything I could remember.

When Sookie was attacked by the maenad, we had time to act, but were unsure how much. As it was, we almost waited too long. We came so close to running out of time to save her. But, for once, time seemed to be on our side.

In Dallas, I once again acted without thinking, when I shielded her from the bullet that could have taken her life. This time I'm not as bothered that I act first, think later. I know if I had had the time to think things through, I would have done the same thing. And this time, I got some of my blood in her in exchange.

Club Dead ate away at me for a long time. That time, I was right there and I didn't have time to protect her. That was the first instance where I felt like I had failed Sookie. I know she never blamed me. In fact, in her mind, I was still the one that saved her. I got her out of the club and to Russell's compound where she could be healed. But the fact that she needed healed at all was a reflection on how quickly things could changes. That was the first time I truly felt the sting of Sookie's mortality and realized that no matter what happened, there might never be enough time.

During the time that I was cursed, I knew no time other than the present. And when my memories were regained, I knew nothing of the time we had spent together. In this case, the time was there, I just had no memory of it. I had never before felt that level of frustration. I knew our time was limited, and I didn't like missing out on a minute of it.

Between then and our bonding in Rhodes, events unfolded all around us, but our time together was less than what I would have liked. That whole time I felt like I had no time. I had no time to figure out why I was feeling the things I was feeling. Time went on for me, then, because I didn't know what I was missing.

In Rhodes, we were forced to bond. Again, we were rushed into our bonding, without my having time to explain to her what it all meant. I had hoped for the opportunity to bond with her since the time she was staked, if not before, but not like this. It was hurried and sloppy, where I would have liked it to be a leisurely and pleasurable experience for us both. And it another instance of me acting without thinking, when Sookie found the pop can bomb.

When I was awoken during the bombing, it was obvious that we needed to move quickly. The building was falling down around us. While Pam and I might have survived, albeit with significant damage, there is no way that Sookie would have. And yet she chose to save us. This time, I began to feel hope.

The take-over was one of the worst nights of my undead life. I knew that it might be my last night. Beyond, that, I knew it could be Sookie's as well. This time, I took time to consider what the best course would be. I surrendered that night so that we might have more time. Maybe, I told myself, I was learning something. That night, I also got back my time with Sookie while I was under the curse.

The absolute worst situation we have faced was Sookie's kidnapping by the fairy twins. Feeling her pain, along with the pain of the silver, I was bound in, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that we were out of time and I wanted nothing more than to meet my final death. That was when I understood how much I loved Sookie Stackhouse. When we both survived, I was glad, for the first time, to be wrong.

When Appius showed up, time became so tangled with him and by insane "brother" that we had no time to talk about where we were going to go now that we could admit our feelings for one another.

And Appius , himself, was determined to take away the rest of our time together by arranging a marriage for me to the Queen of Oklahoma, which is how I came to be in the situation I'm in now.

I know that a vampire marriage will not last forever, but Sookie is human. Even with her fae heritage, her life could be over in the blink of an eye for a vampire. Try as I might, I have yet to discover a way out of this marriage. So, now I sit at Sookie's home, trying to explain that our time together might actually be over, though it pains me to even think it.

I am surprised by her reaction as she smiles at me and says, "Eric, nothing is final until you are dead."

In my confusion, I actually reply, "But I am dead."

The laughter that is her response is one of my favorite sounds in the world but I cannot understand where it is coming from, since I am in so much despair.

Sookie reaches for my hand and drags me to her bathroom. Reaching inside the drawer that I know she keeps her make-up in, she says, "I believe I have found a solution to our problem."

The object she pulls out sends a shockwave through me. With that small artifact, we could have all the time in the world.


End file.
